Zaka Ashraf is PCB's first elected chairman

Zaka Ashraf, the PCB chairman, has been elected to a four-year term, the first-ever elected incumbent in that office. He was elected under the new PCB constitution, which in February replaced the system of appointing the PCB chairman by the Patron of the board, the President of Pakistan.

The PCB's board of governors had its first meeting today in Islamabad under the new constitution. The nomination committee interviewed the two candidates - Ashraf and former Lahore Stock Exchange chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan - recommended by the Patron and unanimously recommended Ashraf for the chairman's post.

Thereafter, the board of governors reassembled and unanimously endorsed the recommended nominee of the Patron and the nomination committee.

In 2011, the ICC required that its member boards become autonomous and free of interference from governments by June 2013. Removal of government interference had also been one of the Woolf report recommendations approved by the ICC. The new constitution was produced as a result of the ICC directive and was approved on February 13, vetted by the Ministry of Law on the suggestion of the PCB and ICC feedback. However, in November 2012, ICC said it was reviewing its stance against government involvement in the administration of cricket.

The development was surprising and conducted secretly, the PCB revealing the appointment through a press release. Ashraf, who has been PCB chairman since 2011, was working under the old constitution, under which he was appointed for an indefinite period by the Patron, President Asif Ali Zardari.

With the country's general election set to take place on Saturday, a new government usually brings about changes in the PCB hierarchy. With his future as chairman uncertain, Ashraf implemented the new constitution in February and was eventually elected for a new term.