Government to approve teams selected by PCB selectors

Karachi: The sports ministry on Saturday made it clear to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) that it will have to get the national squad for the international Twenty20 tournament approved by it before the players and officials can fly out. 

Sports minister Najamuddin Khan, who has been on a warpath against the Board, said since the ministry was now supervising and monitoring cricket affairs, the team picked by the selectors had to be approved by him.

The ministry has taken control of the Board affairs since it's been without a chairman after Naseem Ashraf stepped down in August.

The selectors are due to announce a 15-member squad for the four-nation tournament in Toronto from October 10.

Najamuddin also said people, who felt he was not competent enough to represent Pakistan at the International Cricket Council (ICC) Eexecutive Board meeting on October 14, should think again.

"I have represented Pakistan at more important forums and I have been doing my homework for this cricket meeting," he said.

The sports minister will attend the ICC meeting which will discuss the new dates for the Champions Trophy which was postponed in August due to security concerns by some teams.

"I would like to take along former captain Imran Khan, our federal law minister and board officals Shafqat Naghmi and Zakir Khan to assist me. But I guess we have to first seek clearance from the ICC for this," he said.

Sources in the Board said under existing ICC rules Najamuddin can attend the ICC meeting as the President of a member Cricket Board or his representative can attend the Board meeting.

But the source said if the sports minister takes a delegation with him to Dubai, it will have to be on PCB expenses and they can't attend the meeting with him.

Najamuddin said he would convince the ICC and member Boards that although Pakistan was facing a big battle against terrorism but this did not mean it was not capable of hosting international cricket matches.

"I will convince them foreign teams must come to Pakistan if our government is willing to provide them security assurances our people and country is capable of facing bigger challenges and in the past we have hosted big tournaments without any problems," he said.

He also said that in future any Board official wanting to go abroad on official work would have to seek clearance from the ministry.

"We will no longer allow anyone to waste public money," he said.
 

PTI