Audit highlights 'standout' promotions of PCB COO

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chief Operating Officer (COO) Salman Naseer's promotions, in the audit report presented to National Assemble's Standing Committee, has caught the eye of everyone.

Salman was promoted from Senior Manager Legal to the position of COO in February 2019 and had a solid increase of PKR 8,25,000 in salary.

According to the report, there were no advertisements posted while PCB also didn't consider education, experience and age while appointing Salman back in the past. The promotion to the position of COO has also appeared against the law.

In the audit, it appeared that Salman was hired as Manager Legal back on September 5, 2011, with a contracted salary of PKR 90,000. He remained in this position till July 15, 2012.

Time by time, he was promoted to different positions. From July 16. 2012 to November 4, 2013, he served as Honorary Manager Legal and his salary moved to PKR 1,20,000.

From November 5, 2013, to March 5, 2015, he had a hike of PKR 80,000 in his salary. He took a monthly salary of PKR 2,00,000 for 16 months.

Salman worked as Senior Manager Legal and had a hike of PKR 35,000 in his salary. He worked in this position from March 4, 2015, to March 7, 2016.

Then he had an increment of PKR 15,000 and was promoted to General Manager Legal. From March 8, 2016, to July 1, 2018. Again he had a hike of PKR 25,000 and worked as Senior General Manager until February 11, 2018. His monthly salary was PKR 2,75,000.

Salman had a big leap and was promoted to the position of COO with a hefty increment of PKR 8,25,000. His monthly salary was moved to PKR 1.1 million.

As per the Audit report, Salman received PKR 3,64,65,000 till July 30, 2021, as an employee of the PCB. One more interesting fact is that Salman again had an increment and now his salary is over 1.2 million.

Salman was promoted to higher positions without any valid reasons. It is clearly mentioned in the audit report that Salman's appointment as Manager Legal, various promotions in contracted appointment, promotion to a higher position in a year, all were illegal and against PCB's law.

Without any advertisement, his appointment as COO is also against the law. In a meeting scheduled on January 12, 2021, Departmental Accounts Committee (DAC) has instructed management to inquire about the matter and also share the report with the complete audit.

It must be noted that Salman is also currently working as Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO). He is serving this role after Wasim Khan's resign from the position in September.