The ICC Presidency for 2015-16 is of great importance for Pakistan Cricket’s standing in world cricket and Najam Sethi's nomination for this post represents a pivotal opportunity to further this cause.

By Amir Husain (25th October, 2014)

Pakistan Cricket Board has gone through a sea change due to changes in management and to the benefit of the organization and Pakistan Cricket, it appears that a more settled and professionally competent regime has established itself in the recent past. When speaking of recent management changes, the name Najam Sethi is very prominent – in terms of past credentials and performance.
Najam Sethi is an accomplished journalist, publisher and administrator and not many candidates can match him in this regard.

It is widely known that Pakistan cricket has been in a state of turmoil for years now, starting with the teams refusing to visit the country for security reasons, their doubts being justified when a local militant group attacked and shot the Sri Lankan team in 2009, killing eight people, which was followed by the spot-fixing controversy a year later, when three Pakistani cricketers were convicted of bowling no-balls in exchange for financial remuneration.

To add insult to injury, Ijaz Butt, the chairman of the PCB at the time proceeded to accuse England of fixing games in the immediate aftermath, exposing Pakistan cricket to serious legal liability. Things have not gotten better since then, with Pakistan’s alienation from the international community only increasing over time.

At such a testing time, Najam Sethi, when he was in office, proved to be a godsend.

His ability to employ diplomacy where his predecessor (and successors) would use empty threats and baseless accusations went some way towards restoring the credibility of the PCB and mending fences with other cricket boards that had been alienated by a succession of previous PCB chairmen who lacked the requisite skills of diplomacy and negotiation.

It was under Sethi that the BCCI, a board never known for being on good terms with the PCB, at least in recent years, agreed to restore cricketing ties between their respective coutnries.

In an environment rife with grouping and backroom politics, ostensibly aimed at replacing captain Misbah ul Haq, Sethi restored some semblance of order as he reiterated that Misbah, with an impressive track record in the past, will remain captain until the ICC World Cup 2015, a decision of unprecedented maturity from an organization that doesn’t have that great a track record in this regard.

Sethi, a graduate of political science from Cambridge University, is a breath of fresh air when we look back at the previous heads of the PCB, Ijaz Butt being the most obvious example, having been referred to as a buffoon by a former ICC President, found sleeping through various ICC and PCB meetings and known more for his personal battles with the players than his administrative ability.
More or less the same goes for Zaka Ashraf.

A man who can speak confidently and present a professional face of the PCB in an environment where the board has become a laughing stock is direly needed and Sethi has done that to perfection.
When the ‘Big-3’ story was playing out, Pakistan mounted the strongest resistance yet they emerged relatively unscathed after the resistance proved futile and the Big-3 arrangement went through, on account of Sethi’s supreme diplomatic skills. Pakistan emerged with an agreement in principal to play six series against India in eight years after a cricketing drought of nearly a decade and a fair degree of the respect that had been lost by the Zaka Ashraf regime was restored through the professionalism of the Sethi regime.

Make no mistake, though, these are still dark times for Pakistan cricket, with no sign of international cricket returning to the country any time soon, internal politics threatening to shred the team into distinct groups loyal to certain players, and the declining quality of the team’s on-field performances.
In such times, more than ever, a reassuring figure is needed at the helm of affairs to guide Pakistan through the turmoil and no better candidate comes to mind than one who has already demonstrated the required skills in ample measure.

Whilst Mr Shaharyar Khan can handle the domestic aspect of arrangements, the leadership skills needed to represent Pakistan at the ICC level must be entrusted in the safe hands of Najam Sethi. Pakistan Cricket’s standing in world cricket is at stake here and Sethi’s appointment will be essential to further this cause.

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