PCB Chairman Zaka Ashraf Quits Amidst Drama In Pakistan Cricket

image-lrkvpby4Zaka Ashraf has quit from his role in PCB (x.com)

Barely a day after Pakistan coaching staff tendered their resignations, and a month after Babar Azam was replaced as captain, Zaka Ashraf has now stepped down from his role as the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

The 72-year-old, who had attained the role by replacing Najam Sethi in July 2023, announced his resignation during the management committee meeting on January 19, as reported by a Pakistani media outlet.


Zaka Ashraf quits PCB Chairmanship

As reported by Geo News, Zaka Ashraf has stepped down as chairman of the PCB. He made the announcement during the management committee meeting. 

As per members present in the meeting, Ashraf said: “I was working for the betterment of cricket but it is not possible for us to work in this way.”

Notably, caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq had extended Ashraf-led committee’s term by another three months following Pakistan’s disastrous exit from the 2023 World Cup race in India.

During his stay at the helm, the ‘Men in Green’ also failed to reach the final of the 2023 Asia Cup in Sri Lanka, and suffered a 0-3 drubbing at the hands of Australia ‘Down Under’.

Earlier this week, Pakistan cricket team coaches Mickey Arthur, Grant Bradburn, and Andrew Puttick all tendered their resignations. The trio were repositioned at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore after Pakistan’s disappointing 2023 World Cup campaign, which subsequently prompted them to miss team’s overseas tours of Australia and New Zealand.

The Pakistan team also travelled under the leadership of newly-appointed skippers Shan Masood (Tests) and Shaheen Afridi (T20Is) after previous all-format captain Babar Azam had relinquished the top job.

As it turned out, Pakistan lost the Test series in Australia 0-3, and also lost the first four T20Is of their five-match series in New Zealand.

Considering Zaka Ashraf’s resignation, the caretaker Prime Minister will soon be announcing his replacement.