Ramiz Raja removed as PCB chairman, Najam Sethi takes interim charge

A 14-member panel headed by Najam Sethi takes charge.

Former cricketer Ramiz Raja has been removed as chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) by the country's government, which has appointed a 14-member committee, headed by Najam Sethi, to run the affairs of the game for the next four months.

The Pakistan government, through a notification late on Wednesday, December 21, 2022, removed Raja following the team's 3-0 whitewash by England in the Test series.

The notification, issued by Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, has to be approved by the Federal Cabinet, which is just a formality.

The developments on Wednesday confirmed speculation that Sharif, who is the patron-in-chief of the PCB, had decided to appoint Sethi as the new chairman of the country's cricket body.

Raja served as PCB chairman for 15 months after he was appointed by former premier Imran Khan to head the board in September 2021.

Raja had taken over as the 36th chairman of the PCB after his predecessor Ehsan Mani had stepped down from the post. He was the fourth former cricketer to be appointed to the post after Ijaz Butt (2008-11), Javed Burki (1994-95) and Abdul Hafeez Kardar (1972-77).

Sethi was the chairman and CEO of the PCB between 2013-2018 and resigned soon after Imran and his party won the 2018 general elections.