Mani puts his weight behind Sarfraz as Pakistan captain for 2019 World Cup

KARACHI: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ehsan Mani has put his weight behind Sarfraz Ahmed by indicating that the wicket-keeper batsman will remain Pakistan’s captain till the 2019 World Cup.

Speaking to media here, the PCB chairman said there’s no controversy regarding captaincy and whatever is there, it is just created by the media.

"He is captain of Pakistan. He has no restriction and no terms. He is a great choice and this controversy around Sarfraz's captaincy is created by the press," he said.

When asked if Sarfraz will remain captain till World Cup 2019, the chairman responded, "Yes, in sha Allah."

He said although there are clear indications from Indian cricket administrators that they want to play with Pakistan, he is not expecting any progress in this regard before next elections in India.

The chairman rued that politics is always mixed whenever it is about India playing Pakistan and that’s why any development can only be seen after the elections across the border.

"We are in talks with India. There are elections coming in India next year and things will be cleared only after that. I can’t expect any progress before that," Mani said.

He further clarified that any bilateral cricket terms with India will purely be on the basis of equality and Pakistan won’t beg them for the bilateral series.

"We want terms with India on equal basis but we won’t be begging them," he said.

"We are in talks with Indian authorities but BCCI is also without a proper structure and it is run by a committee of administrators. But, I can’t tell you that Indian cricket administrators have clearly signaled that they want to play."

Replying to a question, the PCB chairman stated that everyone in the PCB is accountable and answerable.

"Even I am accountable in PCB. There’s no one in PCB who is not accountable. We will make everything transparent and there will be nothing to hide. I will publish my expenses every quarter. I am answerable to every stakeholder," he said.

Mani said there’s a need to have an empowered chief executive in the PCB because the job of the chairman is totally different from the job of chief executive and one person can’t do both the jobs.

"Which other chairman in the world has the powers of chief executive as well? We will have a separate chief executive. Chairman and CEO have different roles. One has to prepare the policy and other is responsible to implement the policy," he said.

The PCB chairman confirmed that he has been reached by Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchises over financial matters, requesting to peg value of dollar to a certain amount but added that any solution of this matter will be decided only after consultation with relevant authorities.

"Franchisees are important stake-holders of PSL but bigger stake holder is PCB. Our interest is to generate money for Pakistan cricket which can be reinvested into development of the game. Franchise demands are not that simple, franchises had the option to hedge the currency value but they didn’t do this. But we are still looking at this matter and will reach a conclusion only after discussing with relevant authorities," he said.

Mani revealed that there are already five to six interested parties who have expressed interest in buying the sixth team in the PSL after termination of contract with Multan Sultans.

Replying to a question, he said the board will have a domestic structure according to culture of Pakistan cricket and interest of every stakeholder, including departments, will be protected.

"We will have a comprehensive form of domestic cricket, the current form of cricket isn’t sustainable. Players are main stakeholders, along with regions and departments. We will protect everyone’s interest in future," the PCB chief said.

"We will examine everything thoroughly, we have to think out of box and have to find a solution according to our cricket culture, and we will take everyone along."