KARACHI: The annual conference of the International Cricket Council (ICC) concluded in Edinburg where host of issues were on the table for discussion. Amongst the matters was the request from the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Shaharyar Khan to set up a special fund for Pakistan to compensate for the heavy revenue losses due to the absence of international cricket in the country for more than seven years. A source claims that the ICC had duly received the PCB plea and it will be thoroughly reviewed in the next meeting. “The PCB’s request has been received and it will now be considered at the next ICC meeting, which is scheduled in October in Cape Town”, the source said
Earlier before the ICC meeting in Edinburg, the PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan maintained that the PCB had suffered millions of dollars revenues losses since no international cricket team toured Pakistan from March 2009 due to the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore.
“When we play a series in the UAE the costs are high and generation of revenues not good enough for us. As a result, we are losing revenues annually and that eats into our funds set aside for development purposes and for our affiliated regional associations”, Shaharyar Khan told Press Trust of India.
Another matter deferred was the chairmanship of the ICC cricket committee. Former India leg-spinner, Anil Kumble is the chairman of the ICC cricket committee however he has just been appointed as the Head coach India. In this regard the source said that the ICC will consult with Anil and then make a decision. “After his (Anil Kumble’s) appointment as India head coach the ICC will consult with Anil, seek his availability and then make a decision in the next meeting. Anil Kumble still has two years of chairmanship available”, the source said
The ScoreLine.org has learnt that according to the terms of reference of the Cricket Committee, the chairman, among other things, should have played more than 30 Tests and must be a former captain and/or coach. Furthermore, the Cricket Committee meets once in a year only.
The writer is a sports journalist in Pakistan & tweets @mak_asif