• Source:JND
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Pakistan Cricket Board's chairman Zaka Ashraf has stepped down from his role as he announced his resignation after chairing a managing committee meeting in Lahore on Friday.

Ashraf, who took the PCB chief role from Najam Sethi in July last year, was asked by the government’s inter-provincial coordination committee to cancel a PCB management committee meeting in Karachi, also stopping him from taking any finance-related decisions.

"At the end of the meeting, Mr. Zaka Ashraf announced that he had decided to tender his resignation as chairman and member of the MC to the honorable Patron Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar," a PCB statement said.

 

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"In his concluding remarks, Mr Zaka Ashraf thanked the honorable Patron PCB for the confidence and trust reposed by him and extended his best wishes and prayers for the betterment of Pakistan and Pakistan cricket," the statement added.

Ashraf had been in the role of PCB chief between the 2011-13 period as well and stepped again after a change in the political coalition ruling the country. In November last year, his contract was given a three-month extension to keep heading the PCB's Management Committee.

 

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Amid all the backlash due to the on-field performances of the Pakistan cricket team, one of the major reasons for Ashraf's sudden exit was his educational qualification. He apparently is not a graduate. It is also said that his tenure was also set to end in February.

However, the on-field disappointments included the outings in the Asia Cup 2023 and the ODI World Cup 2023 which were followed by massive changes in the team setup as well as the team management.

Babar Azam resigned as captain in all formats after the World Cup whereas the team director Mickey Arthur and coach Grant Bradburn were asked to report to the National Cricket Academy in Lahore before the foreign duo decided to quit.

Under the captaincy of Shan Masood, Pakistan recently lost the Test series in Australia 3-0 followed by the horrible performance in New Zealand in the T20I series which they are trailing by 0-4 under Shaheen Afridi.

Before stepping down, Ashraf listed his achievements, including a visit by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) delegation to the country. The PCB statement highlighted the visit of the Roger Binny-led BCCI side, which visited there during the Asia Cup in August.