No PCB meeting on budgeting held so far

LAHORE: With just a couple of days left before the ongoing financial year ends, no meeting has been held so far to present the 2024-25 budget of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) before the Board of Governors (BoG) for approval.

According to well-informed sources, no internal budget meeting has been held so far and there is no chance of any such meeting in the near future, as PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi is currently in West Indies on the invitation of the International Cricket Council to watch the T20 World Cup final scheduled to be held in Bridgetown on June 29.

The PCB chief is expected to return to Pakistan on July 2, it is learnt.

On a couple of occasions in the past, PCB’s financial budget was delayed due to mismanagement and the same situation has arisen again, which signifies an unprofessional approach of the authorities concerned in the game’s governing body.

The incumbent PCB regime under Mohsin took some major decisions unilaterally — without the approval of the BoG — in the recent past. These decisions include giving back T20 captaincy to Babar Azam, just two months ahead of the T20 World Cup, after Shaheen Shah Afridi-led side suffered a 4-1 T20 series defeat in New Zealand earlier this year.

The decisions to announce a headless national selection body comprising seven members, including five of them from Lahore; bringing back all-rounder Imad Wasim and fast bowler Mohammad Amir to international cricket; and appointing Gary Kirsten as Pakistan’s white-ball head coach just one month before the T20 World Cup were also taken by the Mohsin-led PCB with no formal endorsement from the BoG.

Pakistan’s first-round exit at the World Cup after embarrassing losses to the US and India exposed the poor decision-making of the present PCB.

Interestingly, a meeting of the BoG has not been held since mid-February and no date has been announced for its meeting yet.

Published in Dawn, June 28th, 2024