Ramiz Raja elected unopposed as PCB chairman

LAHORE: Former captain Ramiz Raja has been elected as the 35th chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

Ramiz Raja was elected unopposed for a period of three years by a seven-member Board of Governors (BoG) during a meeting at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Monday.

The election for PCB chairman took place under the supervision of PCB Election Commissioner, Mr Justice (retd) Sheikh Azmat Saeed. Aasim Wajid Jawad, Alia Zafar, Asad Ali Khan, Arif Saeed, Javed Kurieshi, Ramiz Raja and Wasim Khan attended the special meeting of BoG.

Addressing the BoG following his election, Ramiz Raja said: “I am thankful to all of you for electing me as the PCB Chairman and look forward to working with you to ensure Pakistan cricket continues to thrive and grow stronger, both on and off-the-field.

“One of my key focuses will be to help introduce in the Pakistan men’s cricket team the same culture, mind-set, attitude and approach that once made Pakistan one of the most feared cricket playing nations. As an organisation, we all need to get behind the national team and provide them the desired assistance and support so that they can produce that brand of cricket, which the fans also expect from them each time they step on to the field of play.

“Obviously, as a former cricketer, my other priority will be to look into the welfare of our past and present cricketers. The game has and will always be about the cricketers and, as such, they deserve more recognition and respect from their parent institution.”

Raja is the 31st person to lead the cricket board as Najam Sethi was elected three times while Zaka Ashraf and Shahryar Khan were named two times respectively.

Raja replaces Ehsan Mani, who stepped away from the position after completing his three-year term. Mani’s tenure ended on August 25.  He will hold his first media interaction at 2:15 pm which will be live-streamed on all PCB social media channels.

Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is also PCB’s patron-in-chief, had earlier nominated Ramiz and a senior bureaucrat Asad Ali Khan as the new members of the BOG.