Former Pakistan skipper Ramiz Raja is most likely to become the next chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) after Ehsan Mani stepped down from the post, refusing to accept a short-term extension at the end of his three-year term.
On Monday, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, also the patron-in-chief of the PCB, had met his former team-mate Raja, who is presently a prominent broadcaster.
Reports have suggested that Khan had identified Raja as the probable candidate to take over from Mani.
“I did meet with the PM and presented him with a roadmap for how Pakistan cricket can go forward,” Raja was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
“It was a cricket-centric discussion on the problems Pakistan cricket is facing and what possible steps can be taken to improve the overall performance. I am glad he called me up and heard me out. He is concerned about the state of cricket overall and is open to discussion,” he added.
Raja further said: “Pakistan has been extremely inconsistent and, let’s be fair, that the ranking in each format reflects that Pakistan cannot make it into the final of tournaments. The only chance they have is to play the semi-final in T20 format while considering the ODI and Test format it’s hard for them to go past the pool stage. So I have updated him on things on the cricketing front. We had a productive meeting and it is now his call on how to proceed.”
Earlier on Thursday, Mani had stepped down from his post after completing his three-year term.
Mani confirmed to Geo News channel that he had declined from the post as he do not wish to continue any longer as chairman of the PCB.