PCB accepts Inzamam-ul-Haq’s resignation

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB accepted Inzamam-ul-Haq’s resignation as the chief selector of the national men’s team after he accused the board of not responding to his email.

“Pakistan Cricket Board has accepted Inzamam ul Haq’s resignation as the chairman of the national men’s selection committee and junior selection committee and will announce his replacement in due course,” PCB said in the statement.

“Inzamam-ul-Haq voluntarily stepped down from his position on 30 October 2023 in order to offer the PCB the opportunity to conduct a transparent inquiry about the conflict of interest allegations.

“A five-member fact-finding committee has been formed by the board to investigate allegations regarding conflict of interest reported in the media about the team selection process. The findings of this inquiry will be submitted to the PCB Management promptly.

Reportedly, Inzamam’s resignation was accepted hours after he slammed the PCB and chairman of its management committee Zaka Ashraf in an interview on Geo News‘ programme ‘Capital Talk’ on Wednesday.

Inzamam slammed the PCB for not responding to his email, saying that the board was not summoning him.

Inzamam said that his lawyer has emailed the board saying, “Summon us if you need us,” but there has been no response to the email.

“I found out through the TV that my resignation was not accepted. The board officials did not inform me of the non-acceptance of my resignation, and now they are trying to save face,” he said.

“I didn’t resign due to the performance of the team in the World Cup. The PCB constituted a fact-finding committee to investigate my issue. The PCB could have made this committee after the World Cup because I’m not running anywhere,” Inzamam added.

He also slammed Zaka Ashraf and said: “[The] board’s chairman was appointed for four months, and now an additional three-month extension has been granted. During such extensions, efforts are made to shift blame onto others. A person tries to save himself, saying that it’s not his mistake.”

Inzamam went on to that if the team is not performing well, he is willing to take responsibility and will not try to run from it.

“The PCB could have sent a message of ownership of the chief selector and captain after Pakistan lost some matches in the World Cup. This message would’ve given confidence to the team but instead, the board made a committee to investigate me,” he added

Former cricketers also complained the board’s top head should have credited him for solving the central contracts’ issue which was pending for four months.

“Ashraf called me to solve the issue of central contracts. A meeting was held one day before the team had to leave for the World Cup.”

“Babar Azam and Ashraf were also present in the meeting and later the issue was solved. The PCB should have given credit to me for solving the issue which has been pending for the last four months but instead, they put the the blame on me,” he added.