Frmr PCB Secy urges Zardari to keep Ministry away from cricket

Lahore, Sep 29 (UNI) Lamenting the current crisis in cricketing affairs in the country, former PCB secretary Col retd Rafi Nasim has demanded that President Asif Ali Zardari appoint a former Test cricketer as its new chairman as soon as possible and keep the Sports Ministry away from the game.

Speaking to mediapersons here yesterday, Nasim said, ''Only a former Test cricketer with the abilities of carrying out strict administration can pull the board out of the current crisis, bureaucrats and diplomats have done it great damage in the past.'' On how certain government officials have joined hands with the motive of taking control over the PCB, the former PCB secy said, ''The officials were taking advantage of President Zardari's pressing political engagements.'' ''The PCB was also a big national unit and a source of national unity, too, so it also deserves equal attention from the president,'' he stressed.

Only a technocrat, Nasim stated, can end the mess created by the non-technocrats.

He was further of the opinion that cricket too, under the ministry's control would suffer like the other federations, which are already under its control.

''For example, what was the performance of the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB), which comes under the Sports Ministry and controls all sports except cricket?'' the retd Colonel asked.

''The country's current standing in other sports says a lot about the performance of the Sports Ministry,'' he said.

It was till the year 1999, when cricket mostly remained in the hands of cricketers and Pakistan earned different laurels through the game. But the downfall started after it fell into the hands of non-technocrats.

Nasim further pointed out the PCB as an autonomous body working under the president of Pakistan and appealed to Zardari, who is the chief of the patron, to suspend the new constitutional committee formed by the Sports Ministry with a mandate to prepare a new constitution.

''The new chairman himself will be quite capable of making amendments in the constitution,'' he added.

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