PCB expresses ‘disappointment’ over Ramiz Raja’s language against Najam Sethi
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday expressed its disappointment over the ‘comments’ and ‘language’ used by former board chairman Ramiz Raja against the new chief Najam Sethi.
Taking to twitter, PCB’s official twitter handle rejected the former chairman’s claims against the Sethi and wrote: “PCB has expressed its disappointment over the comments made and language used by former Chairman Mr. Ramiz Raja against the Chairman of the PCB Management Committee Mr Najam Sethi.”
PCB has issued clarification regarding the expenses comparison made by Raja with Sethi saying, “Former Chairman Mr Raja’s comparison about his and the current Chairman Mr Sethi’s expenses during his previous term is misleading and inaccurate as the circumstances are incomparable.”
Here’s the clarification:
- HBL Pakistan Super League 2016 to 2018 were held offshore, implying many visits to the UAE to organise the marquee tournament However, no PSL allowances have ever been paid to current Chairman Mr Sethi and this information has been merely presented as a potential payable. In contrast, PSL 2022 was held under former Chairman Mr Raja and was staged only in Karachi and Lahore.
- Foreign tour expenses are high for current Chairman Mr Sethi as during his previous tenure, PSL and Pakistan’s home international matches was played outside Pakistan. Therefore, the current Chairman was required to make frequent visits to the UAE for PSL and bilateral series and for related meetings. All travel expenses were approved by the appropriate authorities and were duly audited (internally and externally).
- Car allowance was paid to current Chairman Mr Sethi as per the Board of Governor’s approval as he had used his personal armoured vehicle due to security threats. On the contrary, the PCB provided former Chairman Mr Raja a brand new armoured vehicle costing PKR16.5million.
- Security expense of current Chairman Mr Sethi was high owing to additional security that needed to be provided to him as he was a former Chief Minister of the Punjab province and the Intelligence Bureau and Special Branch Punjab had issued advised of threats to him.
- It is pertinent to remember current Chairman Mr Sethi had sent a legal notice to the PCB regarding the table of expenses as soon as these were made public through the PCB corporate website.
Earlier, Former Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Ramiz Raja criticised the government over its decision to appoint Najam Sethi as PCB management committee chief, saying “he cannot do anything for the betterment of cricket as he has come to make troubles,” adding that, “There should be no political interference in cricket.”
“The government removed a Test cricketer from chairmanship and changed the whole constitution of PCB just to accommodate Najam Sethi. This is a highly disrespectful way of treating your cricketers,” he added.
