PCB chairman Mani: 'Was brought back by Imran Khan to correct & improve Pakistan cricket'

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ehsan Mani revealed that he was brought back to 'improve' cricket in Pakistan and returned only on the behest of Imran Khan after a gap of nearly 12 years. Speculations have been rife about Ehsan Mani being the next potential candidate for the role of ICC Chairman once Shashank Manohar's tenure ends. However, the PCB chairman put all rumours to rest by revealing that his focus was to improve the game in Pakistan and that he being at the helm of the affairs in ICC was not his agenda. 

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'Imran had asked me to come' 

According to PTI, Ehsan Mani said that he was brought back to Pakistan cricket by current Prime Minister Imran Khan, who wanted him to 'correct and improve' the game in the country. Mani was the ICC chairman from 2003 to 2006 following which he was absent from the scene until he was roped in to lead the PCB amid turbulent times including match-fixing scandals. Further, Mani revealed that the role of ICC chairman was not his 'agenda' and that he was there to 'serve' Pakistan cricket. 

"Imran had asked me to come and work in Pakistan cricket. I have stayed away from cricket for nearly 12 years since my last term as ICC chief. So I didn't come back into the game to serve ICC but only Pakistan cricket," the veteran cricket administrator said.

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PCB gets Imran's backing to criminalise match-fixing

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is also the patron-in-chief of the country's cricket board, has approved the PCB's plan to revise its anti-corruption code and make match-fixing a criminal offence. According to a Pakistan Cricket Board source, the green signal came when PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani met with Imran earlier this week where the premier also gave the clearance for the national team to tour England despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Imran supported the draft copy of the new laws and advised Mani to get it cleared by the Law and other relevant ministries so that it can be tabled in the parliament and become a written law," the source said.

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Image credits: AP