Chairmen’s expenses comparison is misleading: PCB

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has expressed its disappointment over the comments made by former Chairman Ramiz Raja against Chairman of the PCB Management Committee Najam Sethi.

The PCB said Raja’s comments were aimed at tarnishing the reputation of current chairman. It added that it reserved the right to pursue legal proceedings to protect the credibility of its chairman and the institution.

In a statement, it said the PCB Patron exercised his constitutional right by restoring the Constitution 2014.

“PCB Chief Operating Officer Salman Naseer has already rebutted Raja’s allegations that he was not allowed to collect his belongings . . . . Raja was never stopped from entering the Gaddafi Stadium premises and will be welcome to visit any time in future.

“Sethi, who was elected as the PCB’s 34th Chairman in August 2017 for a three-year term, had voluntarily resigned with two years remaining in his tenure after his nominating authority had lost the 2018 general elections in July. This clearly indicates his approach and positive attitude.

“Similar to Sethi’s appointment as Chairman of the PCB Management Committee, Raja had also been elected as the PCB Chairman on the eve of the 2021-22 domestic season on 13 September 2021.

“The PCB Management Committee, in its first meeting on 23 December 2022, had approved the dissolution of all Committees, including the National Selection Committees, pursuant to the repeal of the PCB Constitution 2019 under which they had been constituted. Consequently, on 24 December 2022, the Men’s National Selection Committee, following four successive Test loses at home this year was replaced by an interim selection panel under former captain Shahid Afridi,” the statement added.

It further stated:”Former Chairman Raja’s comparison about his and the current Chairman Sethi’s expenses during his previous term is misleading and inaccurate as the circumstances are incomparable.

“Foreign tour expenses are high for current Chairman Sethi as during his previous tenure, PSL and Pakistan’s home international matches were played outside Pakistan. Therefore, the current Chairman was required to make frequent visits to the UAE for PSL and bilateral series and for related meetings. All travel expenses were approved by the appropriate authorities and were duly audited.

“Car allowance was paid to current Chairman Sethi as per the Board of Governor’s approval as he had used his personal armoured vehicle due to security threats. On the contrary, the PCB provided former Chairman Raja a brand new armoured vehicle costing PKR16.5million.”