PCB nominates Zaheer Abbas for ICC presidency

The PCB has nominated former Pakistan batsman Zaheer Abbas for the ICC presidency, a day after Najam Sethi, the head of the board executive committee, withdrew his candidature for the post. Abbas was principal advisor to Sethi when he was the PCB chairman.

The ICC had asked the PCB to nominate an ex-cricketer last year in September but Pakistan had came up with Sethi's name. Sethi was slated to take over from Mustafa Kamal as the ICC president for a period of 12 months from July 1. In April, he had offered himself as the interim president after Kamal resigned and was willing to fill in for two months before taking a full-fledged role from July.

Sethi's decision to withdraw came after the ICC in its previous board meeting, it is understood, discussed encouraging former cricketers for the post from 2016 after what would have been Sethi's one-year term.

The post of the ICC president is merely a ceremonial and ambassadorial one and there was a sense prevailing after Kamal's fall out that this post should be held by an iconic cricketer for the image and popularity of the game.