PCB to respond to PTT recommendations in ten days

The PCB has said that it will respond to the recommendations and suggestions made by the ICC's Pakistan Task Team (PTT) within ten days.

"We are observing each and every recommendation in microscopic detail and we will write a detailed response with our observations to the ICC in ten days' time," PCB chief operating officer Subhan Ahmed said.

The PTT had presented a 38-page report during the ICC's annual conference, listing 63 far-reaching recommendations that it believed would strengthen cricket in Pakistan. The report has also called, in strong terms, for a resumption of cricket ties with India, recognising it to be a key component of the fabric of Pakistan's cricket.

The PCB is reportedly unhappy with some of the suggestions in the report, particularly on selection and contract issues. They are also clear that the recommendations are merely guidelines, and they are not obliged to implement them.

"These are recommendations and not obligatory directives," a senior board official said. "They are not meant to be mandatory. These recommendations are just an observation by the task team. It is assumed that by adopting them, the system will improve but it is completely up to the board to comprehend what actually is feasible to adopt and what is not."

A member of the PCB governing council pointed out that the task team had not visited Pakistan even once to check ground realities while compiling the report. "What is also disappointing is that the task force has given no roadmap for the revival of international cricket in Pakistan," another board official said.

Former captain Javed Miandad was also critical of some of the guidelines. "Making recommendations or suggestions regarding the quality of cricket balls we use in our domestic circuit or our selection process are issues that should not be of concern to the task force," he said. "These are purely internal matters of the PCB."