New Delhi, Mar 23: On Saturday, after a protracted illness, former head of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Shaharyar Khan, 89, died away in Lahore.
The Pakistan Cricket Board, via its Chairman, the Board of Governors, and its workers, expresses great regret and sorrow over the passing away of former PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan early this morning in Lahore. The PCB published a statement to announce Shaharyar Khan’s death. At the age of 89,
Family sources told Geo News Urdu that Shaharyar Khan had been sick for a long time and will be buried in Karachi. Nauman Niaz, a well-known journalist, expressed his sympathy on the passing of the former PCB chairman.
Shaharyar succeeded Gen. Tauqir Zia as PCB chairman in December 2003. It was a period when claims of nepotism and financial mismanagement damaged PCB’s credibility. The board changed once he arrived and became apparent as a strong management. His hiring was a major factor in the change in Pakistani cricket.
He brought in former English cricketer Bob Woolmer to coach the national squad in 2004, and the team seemed more steady as a result of Woolmer’s appointment.
India’s impact in cricket was growing rapidly at the time he began to confront problems on the international scene. His employment came to an end in October 2006, two months ahead of schedule. He was charged with failing to manage players in a position of power during the Darrell Hair-Oval incident. Umpires Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove said in 2006 that on the fourth day of the fourth Test match against England, players from Pakistan had tampered with the ball.
He had a distinguished political career before being named chairman of the PCB. He served as Pakistan’s foreign secretary, ambassador, and high commissioner between 1957 and 1994. In addition, he held positions as Pakistan’s ambassador to Jordan in 1976 and as a Third Secretary in London and Tunis, before being transferred to London in 1987. From 1999 to 2001, Shaharyar represented Pakistan as an ambassador to France.
Additionally, he served as the men’s national team manager for Pakistan during the 1999 tour of India and the 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup.
In 2014, when Pakistan cricket was once again mired in upheaval, he took up his second term as PCB chairman. There were many changes to the chairman position between Zaka Ashraf and Najam Sethi. Finally, Shaharyar was sworn in as chairman after receiving no opposition from the PCB board of governors.
The PCB sent Shaharyar Khan’s family their sympathies.
“I offer the PCB’s sincere sympathies and sorrow for the loss of former Chairman Shaharyar Khan. According to a statement released by Pakistan Cricket, Chairman PCB Mohsin Naqvi stated, “He was a fine administrator and served Pakistan Cricket with the utmost dedication.”
He said, “Pakistan Cricket will always be grateful to the late Shaharyar Khan for his outstanding leadership of the board and his contributions to the expansion and advancement of the sport in the nation.”
