Sethi gets Pakistan Big 4 status in ICC

LAHORE: Pakistan made extraordinarily significant gains at the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) annual meeting in Melbourne on Thursday, says a press release.

Of the three major concessions that PCB Chairman Najam Sethi was able to secure was the ICC’s willingness to grant Pakistan the fourth rank (‘Big Four’) after the ‘Big Three’ in terms of the percentage of revenue to be received from the ICC in the next eight years from broadcasting and other rights on ICC fixtures. The concessions include ICC’s confirmation to Pakistan for the award of presidential position with effect from June 2015.

“The PCB had organised itself and planned to get maximum advantage for Pakistan cricket from an extremely precarious position. We have accomplished all our objectives. And I am positive that in the times to come Pakistan Cricket shall greatly benefit from what PCB has been able to obtain for it today,” Sethi said while speaking from Melbourne.

It may be mentioned that Sethi had promised massive achievements for Pakistan after taking over the PCB charge. Talking to the Geo News programme, Aaj Kamraan Khan Key Saath, Sethi promised more good news.

Sethi briefs PM Nawaz on Pak-India cricket developments

LAHORE: Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Najam Sethi Sunday called on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and briefed him about the affairs of the board at length.

Speaking to Geo News here, Sethi said: “meeting with the premier was encouraging”.

The PCB chairman further said he deeply briefed PM Nawaz on the Pak-India cricket and developments in the restoration of the game between two neighboring countries.

“PM Nawaz agreed on the proposal for holding elections in the board at the earliest”, he said and added that the premier would give approval of the PCB constitution after returning from India.

PM Nawaz, who is also Patron-in-Chief of Pakistan Cricket, assured full cooperation and provided guidelines to Sethi for the improvement of the game.

Sethi had nothing to do with selling PCB rights: Imran hospital audit body chief

 

LONDON: The former president of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and a senior Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) adviser Ehsan Mani has said that Najam Sethi, ex-PCB chairman, had nothing to do with the bidding procedures or sports rights for the cricket series against Sri Lanka.
Geo TV’s detractors and Najam Sethi’s critics, without presenting any evidence, have alleged that Sethi, who hosts one of the most watched current affairs shows on Geo called ‘Aapas Ki Baat’, may have helped Geo Super get the sporting rights for the Pakistan-Sri Lanka series held in the United Arab Emirates last year.

But in an exclusive interview over phone with this correspondent from France, Ehsan Mani, who was the head of the PCB committee that approved the Geo Sports’ bid for the Sri Lanka/South Africa series, expressed shock that such baseless allegations were aired without giving any thought to the facts.

Ehsan Mani is a board member of Imran Khan’s Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital and a friend of Imran Khan — who has led the campaign of allegations against the Jang and Geo Group, accusing the group of being involved in election rigging and winning favours from Nawaz Sharif — but Mani said he was astonished that such allegations were being made knowingly by some whose aim was to malign rather than to do anything good.

But the stern rebuttal by Ehsan Mani will come as a shock to Imran Khan who faces court cases from Jang and Geo over these allegations.

Ehsan Mani clarified: “The committee that I headed comprised Justice Shabbar Rizvi, an ex-Lahore High Court judge, Ahmed Hussain and a lawyer. It had three PCB management members Subhan Ahmed, COO, Badar Khan, CFO, and Salman Naseer, PCB’s internal legal adviser. It has had an ex-PCB Board member Bughio, a close aide of Zaka Ashraf.

“It was on my request that renowned accounting firmErnst & Young was taken on board to oversee all the process and to ensure that the whole bidding process was independent and transparent. The aim was to ensure transparency so that no bidder should be given undue advantage. Ernst and Young made the final report with recommendations and sent it to the PCB.”

Ehsan Mani said that the highest bidders were Ten Sports and Geo and they were recommended on the basis of the merit of their bids, the highest amounts they put down to win these rights. “Najam Sethi wasn’t involved at any stage. He had nothing to do with the bidding at any of the stages. There was only one PCB representative Bughio who sat in the meeting as an observer. Najam Sethi didn’t have any influence at any stage. There was no pressure, corruption or manipulation. Everything was independent and the bid was open, negotiations were opened and on board. Everything was on record and minutes were taken down.”

After the bids were received, Mani said, the committee only recommended to the PCB board that the South African series shall go to Ten Sports and the rights for Sri Lanka shall go to Geo Super. “We had no power other than to make recommendations. The PCB governing body finalised the decision. There was no interference at all at any level, there’s no question of any pressure. It was not possible. The highest bidder won and it’s simple. The terms and conditions were provided in writing in advance to all the parties involved.”

Ehsan Mani refused to disclose how much money was offered by Geo Super and Ten Sports because it was “confidential” but he stressed that the rights were won by the highest and the most competitive bidders. “There is no doubt about that. This is all on the record. Ernst & Young witnessed the negotiations and recorded everything. Their report was confidential and private which we didn’t see. Everyone involved was satisfied with the procedures and no objections were raised.”

When asked if the chairman PCB could manipulate at any stage using his powers, Ehsan Mani said that the process of establishing committees was such that the chairman couldn’t do anything. “The PCB chairman cannot manipulate. When I was approached to be a part of this committee, I said I will help.”

Mani said that he has been helping the Pakistan cricket since 1992 and had been involved in many deals and at various stages. “My only condition was that this committee will be independent and the PCB chairman will not be involved. The committee was completely independent and any involvement from any quarter was out of the question. I had done the ICC deal for $500 million in 2000. In 2006 and 2007, I was asked again by the ICC to help with their rights and one of the deals was done for $1.1 billion. When my reputation is so high and I am trusted so much, then why would I do anything untoward?”

When asked again if Najam Sethi had anything to do with the bidding process, Ehsan Mani said that Najam Sethi had no involvement. “Najam Sethi had absolutely no involvement. He couldn’t have done that. We followed a transparent procedure. No bidder knew who was offering what amount. No one knew what was on board. We wanted maximum money. We wanted maximum money for the PCB and that was our aim. Those who failed our targets failed to get the rights. All bidders were there and they knew what was going on.”

Ehsan Mani’s interview has proved the allegation leveled by Imran Khan, Mubashir Luqman and several TV channels as a complete lie. Several channels, particularly ARY, were alleging that Sethi favoured Geo in getting the cricket rights. Imran Khan leveled this allegation in his several TV interviews. He particularly attended Mubashir Luqman’s programme at ARY and repeatedly leveled this baseless allegation.

The Jang Group’s response to this allegation was present at its website, parts of social media and even published several times in newspapers, but no anchorperson ever asked any question from Imran Khan about the role and stand of Ehsan Mani, who is the chairman of the audit committee of Shaukat Khanum Hospital.

As Imran’s allegation has been proven a lie, the lawyers community in the UK is discussing what would be the worth of Imran’s other allegations against the Geo and Jang Group. They think Imran, who enjoys respect in the UK, will face embarrassment on failure to prove his charges against the Geo/Jang Group in the UK courts.

Imran out to support third force: Sethi

LAHORE: Senior analyst Najam Sethi said PTI chairman Imran Khan had decided to support the third force as some people in his party were advising him short-cuts.
Speaking in Geo News programme ‘Aapas Ki Baat’ on Sunday, Sethi said apparently Imran wanted to protest rigging in elections. “He moved the election tribunal and realised the process will take two years and then moved the Supreme Court which again sent him to the tribunal. He wanted verification in four constituencies and if rigging proved, he would declare the whole election a fraud and demand fresh polls. He wants the government to call new elections and its ouster if the government refuses it, so that new elections are held in a fair way,” he observed.

He said the timing of the move was intriguing as it would complete one year of the government. “However, there is some trouble as Tahirul Qadri will join him. Contrary to Imran, Qadri talks of a change of the system. Imran earlier supported democracy and Geo but now he has changed and blamed Geo for his defeat but he cannot explain it. There are also tensions between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the military leadership over the Musharraf case, Pak-India relations and talks with the Taliban. They are not on the same page. Then tensions arose between the army leadership and Geo and it appears the army is not willing to relent,” he added.

The noted analyst said some people were advising Imran Khan to exploit the differences between the prime minister and the army leadership, loadshedding and rigging in elections and launch a movement to bring the government on the back foot, even if violence occurred. “It is a dangerous situation,” he added. To a question, Sethi said Imran was targeting Geo to please the third force. “Geo has differences with the military leadership over Pak-India trade, friendship and Aman Ki Asha. Geo also had a difference of opinion with the military leadership on Musharraf’s trial. If some people are angry with the prime minister, they are also annoyed at Geo. The channel was a big target in the attack on Hamid Mir,” he elaborated.

To a question on talk of martial law in drawing-room debates, he said the prime minister should also think about it and remove misunderstandings with the military. To another question, he said it was difficult to remove an elected government. “The prime minister should act to defuse tensions with the military as it is also not good for the economy which is of prime importance today. The judiciary and the media should also not be weakened,” he added.

Necessary to support Big 3 to play international cricket: Sethi

LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman, Najam Sethi said it was necessary to support the ‘Big 3’ to play international cricket.
 
Najam Sethi added that next year Pakistan would nominate the ICC president.

Sethi held a news conference here on Friday after spending the previous day taking part in the International Cricket Council (ICC) meeting in Dubai.

Najam Sethi told reporters that Pakistan would support the ‘Big 3’ after its conditions would be met.

The PCB chairman said he was first informed of the ‘Big 3’ issue on January 8. Sethi told reporters that he discovered on February 8 that Bangladesh was onboard with the proposal while Pakistan and Sri Lanka remained opposed to the ‘Big 3.’


Informing the media about the need to support the ‘Big 3,’ the PCB Chairman said he had held detailed meetings with all countries including India. “We have signed MoUs with all boards for tours over the course of the next eight years.”

According to Sethi some boards had cancelled tours to play against Pakistan. The PCB chairman said after signing the deal Rs30 billion revenue would be generated for Pakistan. The PCB Chairman further said that a series against India had been decided.

Najam Sethi added that the next meeting of the Asian Cricket Council will be held under his chair in Lahore.


When asked about Mohammed Amir, Sethi replied that talks were ongoing with the ICC and the former bowler would play cricket soon. “A decision regarding Amir’s punishment will be taken during the next ICC meeting in June.” Sethi said it was his understanding that Amir’s punishment would be reduced by one year.

 

Former management of PCB rejected ICC’s ‘Big-4’ offer, says Sethi

LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Najam Sethi said on Monday that Pakistan was offered to join the International Cricket Council’s “Big-4” party but after the former management rejected the offer, a “Big-3” panel was formed.

Before leaving to attend the ICC meeting, Sethi made the revelation at Lahore airport. “The three major stakeholders of the Big Three wanted Pakistan to be in their fold and made the offer to the former management but its rejection of the offer cost Pakistan big amount in return,” he maintained.

An official of the board said that the Big Three have the understanding that a large amount can be generated through the organisation of Pakistan-Indian series and keeping that in mind the offer was made.

“The then PCB management refused the offer and harmed the country’s cricketing interests as accepting the offer would have meant greater share in revenue and say in tour arrangements.“Now the ICC does not need Pakistan after the rejection of such a rare offer,” he added.

Sethi further said that his aim is to restore Pakistan-India cricket as such contests are not only cricketing but bring revenue, peace and prosperity to the regional cricket. “Apart from India, bilateral series with other cricketing nation has been finalised up till 2020,” he added.

Sethi said that Muhammad Hafeez set a good precedent by leaving the T20 captaincy and now he, himself will supervise the process of finding a new captain and coaching staff while no corruption and favouritism will be tolerated in this regard.

“There are no groupings in the team and the players are united under Misbahul Haq and there is no rift between him and Hafeez,” he added.On the appointment of Rashid Latif as chairman selection committee, he said that there would not be any favouritism in selection of the players with his appointment.