PCB warns against ‘running after money’

Cricket will be ruined if ‘we go after money’, according to the Pakistan Cricket Board chief Zaka Ashraf.

Pakistan, along with Sri Lanka and South Africa, has sought time to consider radical changes to the International Cricket Council proposed by the rich boards of India, England and Australia. The ICC delayed any decision on reforms in Dubai this week.

“I told them in the ICC meeting that we should see whether we need money or cricket because if there’s cricket, every board will get the money. If you go after money, it won’t bring in cricket,” Ashraf said.

The proposed changes give more powers to the big three, and it will be discussed again at the next ICC meeting on February 8.

Three boards considering their options suggests seven out of the 10 full ICC members back the reforms. Just one more vote was needed to get them approved.

The ICC board has provisionally approved a five-member executive committee and a five-member finance and commercial affairs committee. They would each include members from India, England and Australia and two others from the ICC board.

The BCCI, ECB and CA proposed a four-member executive committee with the big three rotating the chair between them and deciding who should join them.

The ICC executive also rejected promotion and relegation among the 10 Test-playing countries, much to the relief of lowly ranked Bangladesh, which initially was with Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka.

“Bangladesh must have seen their interest (answered), but we have to see if it’s a short-term gain or a long-term gain,” Ashraf said. “We will also see what is good for our board and for our country.”

Following his re-election last year, Ashraf was suspended for eight months until this month, when he was reinstated by the Islamabad High Court. The government filed a review petition against Ashraf’s reinstatement in the Supreme Court, but took it back on Friday after the high court said the PCB patron, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, has the authority to keep Ashraf or not.

Pakistan has not hosted India for seven years and during the meeting, according to Ashraf, BCCI offered to resume cricketing ties.

“The BCCI offered to all the cricket boards of the world, they offered us a lot, too,” Ashraf said. “They told us they will make a bankable document and they won’t back out from their promise. We will discuss this, and after taking approval from the prime minister then we will see what happens when we go back in the next meeting.”