Zaka Ashraf Friday resigned from his position as chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Management Committee, effective immediately, having held the position for approximately half a year.
On July6,2023, Ashraf was elected to the PCB Board of Governors after taking over as chairman of the Management Committee in place of Najam Sethi.
As reported by Geo News, Ashraf stated, “I was working for the betterment of cricket but it is not possible for us to work in this way,” in front of the attendees of a committee meeting.
He continued, “Whoever the Prime Minister [Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar] nominates [would take my place], it is up to him now.
The tenure of the Ashraf-led Management Committee was extended in November 2023 by Caretaker PM Kakar.
Later, in a statement, the PCB verified that Ashraf had informed patron caretaker PM Kakar of his decision to retire as chairman and member of the MC.
In his parting words, Ashraf expressed his gratitude to the PCB Patron for his confidence and trust, as well as his best wishes and prayers for the advancement of Pakistani cricket.
Pakistan participated in two significant events under Ashraf’s leadership, the Asia Cup and the ODI World Cup, but lost both of them.
The Men in Green were not only unable to go to the World Cup semi-finals but also to the final of the regional event.
Shan Masood (for Test cricket) and Shaheen Afridi (for Twenty20 international cricket) took over as captains after Babar Azam quit as captain following the World Cup.
The coaching team under then-director Mickey Arthur was also fired by the management committee. They were transferred to the National Cricket Academy, but not before they tendered their resignations.
The team director is former captain Mohammad Hafeez, and the head of the selection committee is former pacer Wahab Riaz.
Under the new manager, the team has not won a single game. They lost the first four games of the Twenty20 International series in New Zealand with one match remaining, while they were thrashed 3-0 in the Test series against Australia.
