For the first time in its history, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has appointed a female director. Alia Zafar, a human resource executive has been elevated to this position.
Besides Zafar, the three independent members are Javed Kurieshi, Asim Wajid Jawad and Arif Saeed. Kurieshi and Saeed are appointed for three years while Alia and Wajid retain the position for two years.
In 2019, the PCB rewrote its constitution and revoked the Board of Governors membership. It also reduced the numerical strength of the cricket associations from eight to three in a bid to reduce their influence. Furthermore, it was also decided to bring in four independent directors to live up to corporate governance best practices.
PCB’s Board of Governors held their 59th meeting at the National High-Performance Centre in Lahore on Monday.
“Following the appointment of the four independent members, the new BoG has been formed. The remaining three members on the BoG will be appointed following completion of the election process at the Cricket Association level,” PCB said.
PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani said Zafar’s inclusion is a ‘giant step forward’ in improving the board’s governance structure.
“I welcome the newly-appointed independent members to the BoG, especially Alia Zafar, the first female independent member, which is a giant step forward in enhancing the PCB’s governance structure,” Khan said.
“The four new members bring with them a wealth of diverse knowledge that will only improve the professional outlook and working of the PCB. These four individuals are highly respected and proven performers in their respective professional lives and we aim to benefit from their knowledge in our efforts to improve our governance,” he added.
The BoG also expressed its delight that the remaining four PSL 2020 matches will be played from November 14-17 and the foreign cricketers had already started to arrive in Karachi while South Africa’s tour for two Tests and three T20Is in January/February 2021 was also on track.
The BoG welcomed the England and Wales Cricket Board’s statement that it was considering a short tour to Pakistan in January 2021 and congratulated the PCB for its efforts in convincing a leading cricket nation like England to consider touring ahead of their expected full tour in 2022. It was acknowledged that this will prove to be the catalyst for New Zealand, Australia and England’s tours in 2021 and 2022.
