The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday rejected former cricket body chief Ramiz Raja’s expenditure claims related to Chairman PCB Management Committee Najam Sethi.
“Ex-Chairman Raja’s comparison of his expenditure with that of Sethi’s previous term is misleading and incorrect as the circumstances are unprecedented,” the board said in a statement.
Backing up the denial with details, the PCB said that from 2016 to 2018 the Pakistan Super League (PSL) was held offshore, which meant that the marquee tournament was held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Many visits were made to e).
PCB has expressed its disappointment over the comments made and language used by former Chairman Mr Ramiz Raja against the Chairman of the PCB Management Committee Mr Najam Sethi
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) December 28, 2022
Read PCB's complete statement here: https://t.co/U2v8qug4mm pic.twitter.com/c5oWbp77eW
However, he said that PSL allowances were never paid to Sethi and the information was merely presented as a possible payment.
“On the contrary, PSL 2022 was organized under the leadership of former chairman Mr. Raja and was held only in Karachi and Lahore,” the statement said.
The PCB said the current “foreign tour expenses are high” for Sethi as the PSL and Pakistan’s home international matches were played outside Pakistan in his previous tenure.
Therefore, the board said, the incumbent chairman was required to make frequent trips to the UAE for PSL and bilateral series and related meetings.
“All travel expenses were approved by appropriate authorities and regularly audited (internally and externally),” the statement said.
The PCB said the car allowance was paid to the incumbent Sethi as per the approval of the Board of Governors as he used his personal armored vehicle due to security concerns.
In contrast, the PCB provided the former chairman with a brand new armored vehicle worth Rs 16.5 million.
The board said that the cost of security for the current chairman was high as additional security was to be provided to him as he was the former chief minister of Punjab.
The PCB added, “Intelligence Bureau and Special Branch Punjab had advised them of the threats.”
“It is pertinent to recall that the present chairman had sent a legal notice to the PCB as soon as the expenditure table was made public through the PCB corporate website.”
