Imran nominated me as PCB chief, says Ramiz Raja

Islamabad : Cricketer-turned-commentator Ramiz Raja has said that he has been nominated by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to become the next chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

In an interview with Dawn, Raja confirmed to “have been informed by the Prime Minister’s Office” that he is Imran Khan’s choice to take over the PCB from Ehsan Mani.

Raja said an official notification of his nomination by the Prime Minister, who’s also the PCB’s patron-in-chief and a former captain of the national cricket team, will be issued soon, following which he would contest the PCB elections and become the new chairman of the board.

Meanwhile, Mani, who is all but out of the door as a senior PCB official after his three-year term ended on Wednesday, has confirmed on condition of anonymity that “he will not be continuing as the PCB chairman”.

Raja’s nomination, if true, comes after Imran Khan held separate meetings with both Mani and Raja earlier this week.

Imran Khan reportedly wanted to replace Mani, who had sought a second term to complete “unfinished” tasks.

A source said that Mani was a bit “off colour” when he came out of the PM’s office after the meeting.

After meeting Mani, the Prime Minister met Raja, a former teammate of Khan having the experience of serving as captain of Pakistan during his playing days.

During his meeting with Mani, the Prime Minister had reportedly expressed his displeasure over Pakistan’s poor performance in England in July this year, where the team lost the T20 series 1-2 besides suffering a 0-3 whitewash in the ODIs.

Mani was appointed as a member of the PCB Board of Governors (BoG) by Khan three years ago, and subsequently he contested and won the elections to become the PCB chief in September 2018, replacing Najam Sethi who had resigned.