Delay in Ehsan Mani’s extension as PCB chairman raises question marks

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ehsan Mani is set to continue in his role, for the next three years, however the notification about his extension is yet to be issued despite the nod from the Prime Minister, Imran Khan, more than 50 days ago.

Mani met Imran on June 21 after which news about the former’s extension was leaked to the media, allegedly by the PCB itself, but since that day there has been complete silence in this regard.

Sources has revealed that when one high-level PCB official approached the government over the reason behind the delay in notification about the extension, the former was strictly told that they are not allowed to ask such questions.  

Pakistan team’s disappointing performance on England tour and mishandling of Kashmir Premier League (KPL) has also made some top government officials unhappy. On one hand, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was putting pressure on foreign players to not participate in the event while the PCB also removed it’s centrally contracted players.

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Meanwhile, the choice of words in the email sent out by the PCB to the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchises, to address the latter’s reservations about KPL, was also not appropriate according to sources.

Despite rumours about the government looking at alternate options, for the post of chairman, the PCB maintains that PM Imran has complete trust in Mani and the latter will continue in his role unless he decides to step down himself.

It must be noted that PM Imran nominated Mani for the position in August 2018. He was sworn in for three years after elections on September 4.

During Mani’s tenure, Pakistan’s team performance has been poor on international level while the HBL PSL also faced numerous hurdles. However, the return of international cricket to Pakistan, a step which was taken by the previous regime, stayed on track.