Ramiz Raja: As Ex-PCB Chair Slams 'Interference', a Look at Pakistan's Domestic Cricket Row

[Spartan]

Ramiz Raja has called the Pakistan government’s move to remove him as Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chair after just one year into his three-year term “political interference".

Ramiz Raja was removed as chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) earlier and former PCB chief Najam Sethi has returned as chairman of a committee that includes former Pakistan captains Shahid Afridi and Sana Mir.

What are Raja’s Allegations?

Raja has claimed that politics were being mixed up in cricket. 

“Politics should not be mixed up in cricket. This is a game of cricketers and a playing field for them. Some people come from outside the circle, and to adjust one person [Sethi], they had to change the entire constitution," Ramiz said on his YouTube channel.

“There is etiquette to do things and it has been done in the middle of the season when teams are visiting Pakistan. Then you have changed the chief selector [Mohammad Wasim] regardless of him doing good or bad. He has played Test cricket for Pakistan, and you should make them leave with respect," Ramiz said.

The Pakistani government recently ousted Ramiz Raja and his Board after the PCB’s 2019 constitution was revoked and a 14-member committee chaired by Sethi was given full executive authority to work on restoring the department structure, which had been eliminated in 2019 after Imran Khan was elected as the nation’s prime minister (the PCB’s patron-in-chief is the PM of Pakistan).

The new PCB management committee, which took office on Thursday, dismissed all committees established under the defunct 2019 constitution, including the selection committee, on Friday. 

The new committee will have 120 days to amend the PCB constitution, replacing the current version with the version from 2014. The committee will be in charge of selecting a chairman and forming a board of governors, according to the 2014 constitution.

Larger Systemic Issues in Pakistan

A report in the Indian Express talks about how Ramiz Raja’s dismissal is the result of larger systemic issues in Pakistan cricket. The report said that the 2019 constitution and the radical changes it made to Pakistan’s domestic cricket were the main reasons for Raja’s growing unpopularity and eventual removal.

The structure of Pakistani domestic cricket at the highest level has changed several times since 1947, with the most recent restructure taking effect in 2019. Previously, domestic cricket was organised into departmental, city, and regional teams, a system promoted by Abdul Hafeez Kardar.

Since 1947, the domestic first-class cricket system has changed dramatically year after year, with teams ranging from 7 to 26 and tournament matches taking on various formats (often changes occurred every year). There has been no consistent set up since the introduction of domestic List A and T20 forms of cricket in the 1970s and 2000s (as has been noted for first class cricket in Pakistan).

School and club cricket have historically suffered as a result of inconsistencies in top-tier domestic cricket. The gradual introduction of departmental teams and the consistent changes in the domestic structure were encouraged because it provided players with permanent jobs. Because of a lack of quality cricket and a lack of interest in departmental cricket, matches were rarely televised. This inconsistency was widely criticised due to poor cricket quality and reduced competition, reports say.

In 2019, six provincially based regional teams were formed. The teams would compete in all three formats of the game’s main competitions: the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy (First Class), the Pakistan Cup (List A), and the National T20 Cup (Domestic T20). The PCB’s rationale for reducing the number of domestic cricket teams was to concentrate talent in order to increase competition and improve cricket quality. The new structure also included second XI, under-19, under-16, and under-13 competitions, as well as live television coverage of top level matches. 

The restructuring also restructured district-level cricket into a three-tier bottom-up system, with 90 city cricket associations supervising school and club cricket at the grassroots level and inter-city tournaments serving as a stepping stone to the six elite regional teams. 

This move was part of then-prime minister Imran Khan’s vision to improve Pakistan’s domestic competition. 

However, this move put hundreds of cricketers and other staff (pitch curators, coaches) in jeopardy, with many turning to other professions to make ends meet. This move was met with widespread condemnation, even though it predated Raja. Crucially, the new six-team format did not produce the expected results due to a number of factors, the most important of which was the pandemic, the report by Indian Express states.

[Spartan]

Asia cup gola mingutunnadu animpeeki dobbinatunnaru

[tables]

1 minute ago, Spartan said:

Asia cup gola mingutunnadu animpeeki dobbinatunnaru

Without both govt being on same page it is not possible to play each other.

in 2003/2004 only after Musharraf , vajpai and man mohan were onboard INDIA toured Pakistan.

[Thokkalee]

21 minutes ago, Spartan said:

Asia cup gola mingutunnadu animpeeki dobbinatunnaru

Govt change aina prati saari cricket board change chesthaaru… the PM will put his guys on the board..