Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has approved the name of former chairman Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Najam Sethi for the president of International Cricket Council. The Prime Minister is also the patron-in-chief of the PCB. The world cricket body will elect its President on November 10. According to sources, there is a general belief among the PCB top brass that Sethi was the right man for the job of ICC president. Sethi, a graduate of political science from Cambridge University, is articulate, well-versed in diplomacy and has already established connections with everybody who is anybody in the ICC during his tenure as PCB chairman.
That’s precisely the reason why the Board chiefs are strongly backing Sethi to get the PCB nomination for the post of ICC president. They are of the view that with Pakistan cricket going through hard times, there was a desperate need for intense diplomacy. To manage it, Pakistan needs someone, who is well versed in cricket affairs and international politics of cricket. That someone, according to PCB higher-up, should be Najam Sethi.
They are of the view that with his vast experience and acumen, Sethi would be able to use what was a vastly ceremonial position to make bridges with world cricket in a bid to provide a boost to the sport in Pakistan. The idea is that while (PCB chairman) Shaharyar Khan can handle the domestic aspect of arrangements, the leadership skills needed to represent Pakistan at the ICC level must be entrusted in the safe hands of Najam Sethi.
