Pakistan's legendary former captain Imran Khan on Thursday welcomed a decision from cricket's governing body to ban political appointments, calling for a total revamp of the national board. "The amendment will help Pakistan as there is no transparency and accountability in the current set-up," Khan told AFP. "But to gain full benefit, Pakistan must fix the cricket structure with a new constitution on regional grounds where officials are elected."
Khan said the changes could allow Pakistan to perform better. "If we have our cricket structure right, Pakistan has more talent than anywhere in the world, and we will dominate the world," said Khan, who led Pakistan to their only World Cup title in 1992. Former PCB chairman Arif Abassi said reform had long been needed. "I resigned in 1996 because there was uncalled for government interference when I wanted to make the PCB a private company with shares," said Abassi.
But fellow former PCB chief Khalid Mahmood rejected the ICC imposition as a violation of Pakistan's independence. "The ICC has no business to tell us how to run our cricket," said Mahmood, calling for legal action if necessary. "We must resist on this and although legal action is the last resort, one has to back it because we have to draw a line on sovereignty," said Mahmood.