In a unanimous decision, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has elected veteran administrator Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi as its chairman, a position he will hold for a three-year term. The election took place during a special meeting of the Board of Governors (BoG) at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Lahore.
Expressing his gratitude and commitment, Naqvi stated, "I am deeply honoured and humbled to have been unanimously elected as the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board. I am thankful for the trust and confidence reposed in me. I am fully committed to upgrading the standard of the game in the country and bringing professionalism in the administration of cricket in Pakistan."
At 45 years of age, Syed Mohsin Naqvi, a prominent figure in Pakistani media, becomes the 37th full-time chairman of the PCB. Notably, he is currently serving as the caretaker Chief Minister of the State of Punjab.
This is the first full-time appointment after the dismissal of former Pakistan skipper Ramiz Raja, who served as the last full-time chairman but was removed from his position due to alleged "political interference" in December 2022. Subsequently, Najam Sethi and Zaka Ashraf held interim roles, with the latter stepping down in January of this year.
Taking charge at a challenging time, Chairman Naqvi faces the task of rejuvenating the Pakistan senior cricket team, which has been struggling since the ODI World Cup in India last year. Following their failure to reach the semifinals in that tournament, Babar Azam resigned as Pakistan's captain. Shan Masood was subsequently appointed as the Test captain, while pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi assumed the leadership role in white-ball formats.
However, Pakistan's cricket fortunes have yet to see significant improvement, as they recently suffered a 0-3 whitewash in the Test series against Australia and a 1-4 loss to New Zealand in a T20I series.
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