I want to make PCB as professional organization: Ehsan Mani

LAHORE (92 News) – Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ehsan Mani said on Sunday that he wants to make the PCB as professional organization. Addressing a news conference, the work of cricket board is to make policy and strategies; however, the transparent procedure was implemented in the selection of PCB Managing Director Wasim Khan. He also praised Wasim Khan’s contributions to cricket and said that he brings a wealth of experience and leadership skills to the board. Ehsan Mani acknowledged that Pakistan’s domestic cricket structure was lacking in quality, and vowed to implement steps to strengthen it. On the occasion – while addressing a press conference – PCB MD Wasim Khan stressed the need to tackle the structure of domestic cricket in the country in order to achieve sustainability and consistency in Pakistan's performance. Wasim acknowledged that the national team's performance was not good at an international level, particularly in Test cricket. He also said that bringing Test-playing teams to the country remains his top priority, as he reiterated the need to revive international cricket here. Wasim Khan said all efforts were being made to fully restore international cricket in Pakistan. “We are targetting Test-playing nations. T20 cricket alone cannot achieve the goal of restoring international cricket here,” he said. The newly appointed managing director, who most recently served as the chief executive of Leicestershire County Cricket Club, acknowledged the need for improvement in domestic cricket structure in order to bring consistency in the national team’s performance. “Our actual problem is at the grassroots, in the system,” Wasim said, adding that the system wasn’t strong and the outcome was visible in the performance of the cricket team, particularly in Tests. He pointed out that any long-term change would take time to implement, and that the results would not be visible in mere six months’ time. The new MD said that the PCB's job was to examine the system of domestic cricket and foster a culture around the sport in schools and at a district level. He termed Mani's vision for domestic cricket as "very clear". “The system has been build up over many, many years, and you don't break a system down overnight,” he said. It is pertinent to mention here that PCB confirmed the appointment of Khan as its managing director on December 6, 2018 . Khan today thanked Mani and the PCB for finding him suitable for the post.