Incompetent board affecting team: Mani

ISLAMABAD: Former ICC president Ehsan Mani says the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is not equipped to revive international cricket in Pakistan while Ijaz Butt is in charge.

“There’s a possibility of an international XI touringPakistan within one year, but it’s impossible for the present board working under Ijaz Butt to fully revive international cricket in Pakistan,” Mani was quoted as sayng in a local daily on Wednesday.

The PCB is yet to submit a report on last year’s militant attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team’s bus at Lahore that left six police officials and a van driver dead. The gunmen also injured several Sri Lankan team players and officials.

A Lahore high court judge has heavily criticized senior police officials in his report for being ill-prepared, poorly equipped and incompetent in their efforts to prevent the attack on March 3, 2009.

“Until this report is handed over to the ICC, revival of international cricket in Pakistan is impossible,” he said.

Mani said the PCB had promised presidential level security to the Sri Lankan cricket team, but “it has thus far not been able to fix the responsibility of the attack on anyone.”

Mani said he was willing to help Pakistan, but he needed complete independence to run the affairs of cricket.

“If the board is run like it is nowadays, it will affect the team’s performance,” he said.

“There is a lot of confusion in the decision making of the PCB which is also damaging country’s image.”

Mani also said the actions of PCB chairman Butt should be more accountable saying: “without accountability there is no chance of improvement.”

Parliamentarian Iqbal Mohammad Ali has also written a two-page letter to President Asif Ali Zardari, the PCB’s patron, calling for the removal of Butt as PCB chairman.

Butt took over from Nasim Ashraf in Oct. 2008, but has since come under severe criticism by former test cricketers and parliamentarians.