New committees formed at 60th BoG meeting

LAHORE: While the newly inducted four members in the Board of Governors (BoG) of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have been briefed about Pakistan’s upcoming tour to New Zealand, different committees were formed at the 60th meeting held on Tuesday here at the National High Performance Centre.

“In relation to the Pakistan men’s cricket team, the BoG was updated on the 55-member squad, including 35 players and 20 players support personnel, for the New Zealand tour, which will be announced by head coach and chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq on Wednesday afternoon in Lahore,” a PCB press release states.

Pakistan will play three T20Is and two Tests from Dec 18 to Jan 7, while the Pakistan Shaheens will concurrently play two four-day and four 20-over matches. The squad will depart for Lincoln on Nov 23.

Meanwhile audit, human resource and remuneration, nomination and risk management committees were also formed, besides the commercial affairs committee and the new PSL Governor Council.

Interestingly, the aforementioned committees were formed quickly in a one-day process, but the PCB is yet to find a replacement for Iqbal Qasim, who led the cricket committee and resigned subsequently after developing differences with the Board.

A new PSL Governing Council has also been constituted, giving an upper hand to the PCB as its seven officials are included against the six representatives of the franchises.

The new PSL Council comprises Ehsan Mani (as Chairman), Javed Kureishi, Wasim Khan, Salman Naseer, Javed Murtaza, Shoaib Naveed and Babar Hamid. Six representatives of PSL Franchisees (all members), Imran A Khan and Usman Wahla (both ex-officio Members).

“The BoG, as per Articles 40, 41, 42 and 43 of the PCB Constitution 2019, approved the appointment of the Audit Committee, Nomination Committee, Human Resource and Remuneration Committee, and Risk Management Committee, respectively,” the press release states.

The committees are:

Audit Committee: Asad Ali Khan (Chair­man), Aasim Wajid Jawad (Mem­ber), (vacant; to be filled by the Cricket Association member on the BoG); Rauf Bhatti (Secretary, Internal Auditor).

Human Resource and Remune­ration Committee: Alia Zafar (Chair­person), Arif Saeed (Mem­ber), (vacant; to be filled by the Cricket Association member on the BoG); Salman Naseer (Secre­tary, Chief Operating Officer).

Nomination Committee: Asad Ali Khan (Chairman), (vacant; to be filled by the Cricket Association member on the BoG), Mr Bakhtiar Khawaja (independent member); Salman Naseer (Secretary, Chief Operating Officer).

Risk Management Committee: Aasim Wajid Jawad (Chairman), Wasim Khan (member, Chief Exec­utive), Javed Murtaza (member, Chief Financial Officer); Mohsin Hassan (Secretary, Compliance Manager).

“In addition to the above and as part of good governance and transparency, the BoG also approved the Commercial Affairs Committee and revised the composition of the Pakistan Super League Governing Council

Commercial Affairs Committee: Ehsan Mani (Chairman), Javed Kureishi, Arif Saeed, Wasim Khan, Babar Hamid (Secretary, Director — Commercial) and Head of Digital Media Rights (to be appointed, all members).

The four newly-appointed independent BoG members were provided a 360-degree update on the PCB’s working and affairs, including the Pakistan men’s and women’s cricket teams, domestic structure and events, commercial programme, revenues and finances, five-year strategy, constitution and governance as well as the risks and challenges the sport faced due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The BoG was also briefed on the HBL Pakistan Super League with historical perspective and background, including all contentious, ongoing and outstanding matters relating to the PCB’s marquee event.

Before the start of the meeting, the PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani once again thanked the outgoing BoG members and welcomed the new members.

“I want to once again thank all the outgoing members for their contribution to Pakistan cricket. They have been a great support to the PCB during the transitional phase and ensured the business was not disrupted despite a number of obstacles we have faced in the journey to date.

“I welcome the new independent members to the BoG – Mr Aasim Wajid Jawad, Ms Alia Zafar, Mr Arif Saeed and Mr Javed Kureishi. They are all highly respected, regarded and successful in their respective fields. I appreciate their willingness to invest their time in cricket by sharing their insight and knowledge to help the PCB. I have no doubt that the PCB will benefit hugely from their presence on the BoG,” Mr Mani said.