The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), formerly known as Board of Control for Cricket in Pakistan (BCCP), is the sports governing body for cricket in Pakistan responsible for controlling and organising all tours and matches undertaken by the Pakistan national cricket team. A full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 1952, it represents the country's men's and women's national teams in international cricket tournaments played under the ICC.
History Following the establishment of Pakistan in 1947, professional and amateur cricket commenced in the same year. Cricket matches were arranged informally until 1948, when a Board of Control was formally instituted. Pakistan was admitted to the Imperial Cricket Conference (currently known as International Cricket Council) in July 1952, and has since been a full member, playing Test cricket. The team's first Test series took place in India between October and December 1952.
Inaugural Board of Control The Pakistan Cricket Board was inaugurated on 1 May 1949 as the Board of Control for Cricket in Pakistan (BCCP). The first meeting, held in the committee rooms of Lahore Gymkhana, saw HE Iftikhar Hussain Khan Mamdot, the Nawab of Mamdot, made president and chairman, with Justice A. R. Cornelius as one of three vice-presidents. The following year, Cornelius became chairman of the working committee, until he relinquished his connection with the board in early 1953.
The working chairman was always one of the three vice-presidents. In November 1958, President Ayub Khan appointed three more new vice-presidents. Then between December 1958 and September 1969 the post of vice-president disappeared.
Committees The response to turmoil within the board has on four occasions been to suspend the rules and appoint an ad hoc committee. The first ad hoc committee was appointed in September 1960 and did not disband until May 1963 having created a new constitution. The President of Pakistan would now nominate the board president who would in turn nominate the other members of the executive committee to sit for a period of three years. Representatives of the four provincial cricket associations and Government departments formed the executive committee.
The BCCP was re-organised in the 1970s and was headed by former cricketers, professional administrators and trustees, who were often businessmen. In November 1976 players' demands for increased salaries reached a crisis and the Pakistan Sports Board took over running the BCCP's affairs. Long-serving president, the formidable Kardar, was in the thick of the dispute. The revolt against Kardar forced him to resign in May 1977 and led to a new Ad Hoc Committee replacing the Board Council in 1978 running Pakistan cricket and again changing the constitution. Provincial Cricket Associations were eliminated and divisional and city CAs became members, giving most of the influence to the city Cricket Association of Lahore and Karachi.
The Board now governed a network of teams sponsored by corporations and banks, city associations and clubs. There was no province-based official team type organisation of domestic cricket in Pakistan and Lahore and Karachi cities were the two top tiers of all cricket, including reservoirs of fresh talent.
Pakistan cricket was beset by dissension and controversy over the national team's poor performance during the tour of India and a public uproar forced the end of the Ad Hoc Committee. The chairman and team captain Asif Iqbal had to step down. Air Marshal Nur Khan now became chairman and he saw to it that the banks and other organisations increased their participation on the Board Council in the face of protests from the zonal organisations.
A third ad hoc committee under Javed Burki took charge of BCCP affairs in January 1994 and made a new constitution including giving it a new name, the Pakistan Cricket Board (P.C.B.). It introduced a chairman and chief executive.
After heavy accusations of corruption and match fixing, the Board was taken over by a fourth Ad Hoc Committee formed on 17 July 1999 which remained in place despite undertakings from Musharraf to bring it to an end. The Pakistan Cricket Board re-emerged by taking the initiative to sponsor the hugely successful 2004 tour of Pakistan by their rivals India. The Pakistan Cricket Board's association with, and participation in the Twenty20 cricket form also proved popular and it hoped to similarly revive popular interest in domestic games. However, Pakistan's early exit from the 2007 World Cup cast a shadow and later Dr. Nasim Ashraf resigned at the end of 2008.
Ejaz Butt was named the PCB Chairman in October 2008. Zaka Ashraf took over from Butt in October 2011.
On 28 May 2013, Zaka Ashraf was suspended as PCB Chairman by Islamabad High Court due to a dubious election. The newly sworn in Government of Nawaz Sharif named Najam Sethi as acting PCB Chairman. On 15 October 2013, the governing council of the Pakistan Cricket Board was dissolved by the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif, and an interim five man management committee was named consisting of acting chairman Najam Sethi‚ Shahryar Khan, two former players (Zaheer Abbas and Haroon Rasheed, and former team manager Naveed Cheema.
On 15 January 2014, Zaka Ashraf was reinstated as PCB Chairman. The PML-N Government was unhappy with the reinstatement (since Ashraf was a PPP appointee), and this led to Ashraf's sacking. In February, PCB Governing Board was dissolved and an eight-member management committee (comprising Shakil Sheikh, Shaharyar Khan, Zaheer Abbas, Iqbal Qasim, Naveed Akram Cheema, Yusaf Naseem Khokar and Faridullah Khan, the secretary IPC). Najam Sethi was elected as chairman by the management committee.
Domestic cricket
The structure of domestic cricket in Pakistan at the highest level has changed many times since 1947 with the latest restructure being enforced in 2019. Previously domestic cricket operated with departmental, city and regional teams - a set up encouraged by Abdul Hafeez Kardar. Since 1947, the domestic first class cricket system has varied considerably each year with teams ranging from 7 to 26 and tournament matches operating under different formats (often changes occurred every year). With the advent of domestic List A and T20 forms of cricket in the 1970s and 2000s, there has been no consistent set up (as has been noted for first class cricket in Pakistan). Historically, school and club cricket has also suffered due to inconsistencies in top tier domestic cricket. The consistent changes in the domestic structure and the gradual introduction of departmental teams was encouraged as it provided permanent jobs to players. Matches were rarely televised due to lack of quality cricket and lack of interest in departmental cricket. This inconsistent system was widely criticised on the basis of low quality cricket and reduced competition.
In 2019, six regional teams were created on provincial lines. The teams would compete in the principal competitions in all three formats of the game. The competitions are: Quaid-e-Azam Trophy (First Class) Pakistan Cup (List A) National T20 Cup (Domestic T20)
The PCB's rationale in reducing the number of teams in domestic cricket was to concentrate talent in order to increase competition and improve the quality of cricket. The new structure also consisted of corresponding second XI, under-19, under-16 and under-13 competitions, and live television coverage of top level matches. The restructuring also reorganised district level cricket into a three tier bottom-up system, with 90 city cricket associations supervising school and club cricket at grassroots level, and inter-city tournaments providing a stepping-stone to the six elite regional teams.
The six regional teams (operated by respective six cricket associations) ensure that the affairs of the associations at city level are regulated. They frame policies that will develop cricket at the grassroots, manage club cricket in collaboration with the 90 city associations and also oversee intra-city competitions. The teams are responsible for revenue generation through sponsorship, marketing and strategic collaborations with business conglomerates. Each of the six regional teams have a chief executive officer and a management committee that has been tasked with supervising all cricketing activities. These changes have been made by the PCB in order to decentralise the administrative body so that it can limit itself to a supervisory role by delegating responsibilities related to the development of the sport to the provincial associations. This tiered structure has been enshrined in the PCB constitution.
Presidents and chairmen No. Name Took office Left officeNotes1Nawab Iftikhar Hussain KhanMay 1949March 19502Chaudhry Nazir Ahmad Khan March 1950 September 19513Abdus Sattar PirzadaSeptember 1951 May 19534Mian Aminuddin March 1953 July 19545Muhammad Ali Bogra July 1954 September 19556Maj. Gen Iskander Mirza September 1955 December 19587President Muhammad Ayub Khan Dec 1958June 19608Justice A.R.Cornelius June 1960May 19639Syed Fida HassanJune 1963May 196910Ikram Ahmed Khan (President) May 1969May 197211Abdul Hafeez KardarMay 1972 April 197712Chaudhry Muhammad HussainApril 1977 July 197813Lt Gen. (Retd) Khwaja Muhammad Azhar August 1978 February 198014Air Marshal (Retd) Malik Nur Khan February 1980 February 198415Lt Gen. (Retd) Ghulam Safdar Butt February 1984 February 198816Lt Gen. (Retd) Zahid Ali Akbar Khan February 1988 September 199217Justice Dr. Nasim Hasan Shah October 1992 December 199418Javed Burki January 1994 March 199519Syed Zulfiqar Bokhari March 1995 January 199820Khalid Mahmood January 1998 July 199921Mujeeb ur RehmanSeptember 1999October 199922Dr. Zafar Altaf October 1999 December 199923Lt. Gen. Tauqir Zia December 1999 December 200324Shaharyar Khan December 2003 October 2006 25Nasim Ashraf October 2006 August 200826Ijaz Butt August 2008 October 201127Zaka Ashraf October 2011 May 2013 (suspended by IHC)28Najam Sethi June 2013 January 201429Zaka Ashraf January 2014 February 2014(Reinstated by IHC)30Najam Sethi February 2014 16 May 201431Shaharyar KhanMay 2014 August 201732Najam SethiAugust 2017 August 201833Ehsan ManiAugust 2018August 202134Ramiz RajaSeptember 2021December 202235Najam SethiDecember 2022June 2023Chairman Management Committee 36Zaka AshrafJuly 2023January 2024Chairman Management Committee37Mohsin Raza NaqviFebruary 2024Incumbent
Secretary
No. Name Took office Left office1Bashir Ahmad196519712Dr Zafar Altaf197219753Khalid Mahmood197519764Lt Col Zafar Ahmad197719785Lt Col (Retd) Rafi Nasim197819806Zulfiqar Ahmad198619867Muhammad Ijaz Butt198619888Arif Ali Khan Abbasi198819919Shahid Rafi1991199410Ghulam Mustafa Khan1995199711Waqar Ahmad1997199912Shafqat Rana19992000Position Abolished
Chief executive officers
No. Name Took office Left office1Arif Ali Khan Abbasi199519962Majid Khan199619973Yawar Saeed199820004Brig Munawar Ahmad Rana200020025Chishti Mujahid200220036Ramiz Hasan Raja200320047Abbas Zaidi200420068Shafqat Hussain Naghmi200620089Salim Altaf2008200910Wasim Bari2009201011Subhan Ahmed2010201812Wasim Khan2018202113Faisal Husnain20222023Position Abolished
Headquarters The PCB headquarters are located near the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, Pakistan. All PCB Officials sit there during the weekdays from 9AM to 5PM.
PCB annual awards Pakistan Cricket Board for the first time held inaugural awards in 2012 to recognize, acknowledge and honour Pakistan's prime cricketing talent that has consistently stood out on the field of play.