ICC to accept govt intervention only over security issues

LAHORE: Emphasising the requirement to keep member boards independent of government interference, chief executive of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Haroon Lorgat has made it clear that the game’s governing body will accept government’s intervention only in one situation — security issue endangering a contest between two countries.

“Only in one case the ICC will allow government to interfere with the affairs of the member board: when the security issues are involved between the two countries, and if any national squad do not tour any other country on security grounds the ICC will accept government’s writ,” ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat told Dawn from Hong Kong after attending a series of ICC meetings from June 26 to 30, during which several important decisions, aimed at improving the game, were taken.

Lorgat asserted nothing forced the ICC to make the amendment in its constitution to rid its all affiliated member boards of government interference.

He insisted that the game’s governing body did it just to follow the principle of modern sporting governance that national federations should be made autonomous to work independently, without any government interference in administrative matters.

“Every member country supported the amendment and it was required to power the member countries to have a free elections system, to hold a democratic process in the administration, which can strengthen the leadership of the board; and thanks every member supported it,” he said.

Asked whether the PCB also backed it, Lorgat said: “Everyone”.

The PCB was against the amendment and it had also served a legal notice to the ICC in this connection. However, later, the PCB and the ICC reached an understanding under which a one-year period has been given till June 2012 to implement it.

During this period the member boards are allowed to discuss with the ICC, any problem, if they will be facing in implementation. The PCB was against the amendment because in case of acceptance, president of Pakistan will not remain its patron, who has the power to appoint  chairman of the cricket board.

During recent years, Lt Gen (r) Tauqir Zia, Shaharyar Khan and Dr Nasim Ashraf were appointed as PCB chairmen, without having any direct link with the cricketing fraternity, but just having close association with then president of the country.

Though the incumbent chairman Ijaz Butt was also appointed by Asif Ali Zardari, on political grounds, he is a cricketing personality (former Test cricketer and he has also remained head of the Lahore City Cricket Association).

Meanwhile, while replying to a question about any further role of the ICC task force on Pakistan after it had submitted its recommendations, Lorgat said it had no more responsibility.

“Now it comes to its logical ending and we have provided full report of the task force to the PCB, which has a series of recommendations,” he stated.

“It has many parts; one also relates to the attack on Sri Lanka cricket team in Lahore in 2009 while another concerns spot-fixing issues surfaced in Lord’s Test [between Pakistan and England] in August 2010,” Lorgat added.

Asked if international cricket would return to Pakistan after the implementation of those recommendations, Lorgat responded: “Then the ICC will encourage the visiting country to go to Pakistan, but again we will accept government’s directives over safety and security issues.”

The task force was formed to bring back international cricket to Pakistan.

Lorgat said though the ICC had abolished the task force, if the PCB required it further the ICC would have no objection.

About the second proposed amendment, asking to elect the ICC president, instead of having him through existing policy of rotation, Lorgat said for some reasons it had been deferred till October.

Lorgat, however, did not agree with the questioner that the proposed amendment was not suitable for the ICC, which had a very small number of member countries unlike other major global sports governing bodies such as FIFA. “It is just a speculation and a best decision is on hold,” he contended.

Asked as some member countries of the ICC were much stronger, how a best suitable person for the said post from any smaller country could contest the elections against a candidate belonging to a big country, his reply was the same, “It’s just a speculation.”