Former Pakistan keeper and PCB chairman Ijaz Butt dies at 85
Former Pakistan wicketkeeper and PCB chairman Ijaz Butt has died on the age of 85 in Lahore.
In 2008, he was appointed chairman of the PCB by then-president Asif Ali Zardari. He held that place by one of the crucial chaotic and tumultuous intervals in Pakistan’s cricketing historical past. Just 5 months into his tenure, there was a terror assault on the Sri Lankan cricket staff and match officers that claimed the lives of eight folks and stopped worldwide cricket in Pakistan for the perfect a part of a decade. It was adopted by angry accusations of lax safety by ICC match referee Chris Broad which Butt dismissed as “lies”.
The Pakistan captaincy modified palms a number of occasions throughout his tenure, with Shoaib Malik famously described as “aloof and a loner” in a report, days after he was sacked. After a disastrous tour of Australia, the PCB hit again with large sanctions in opposition to its personal gamers. Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan have been banned “indefinitely” in 2010, Malik and Naved-ul-Hasan have been handed one-year bans, whereas Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal and Umar Akmal have been placed on six-month probations. Yousuf and Younis have been again taking part in Test cricket just a few months later.
Butt would additionally should content material with the fallout from the spot-fixing scandal that noticed three Pakistan gamers – captain Salman Butt, and bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir – caught agreeing to bowl no-balls in a Test at Lord’s in trade for cash. The three gamers have been banned, and relations between the PCB and England turned particularly frosty, which Butt played a part in contributing to on a minimum of one event.
Butt was changed by Zaka Ashraf, who can also be the present PCB chairman, in 2011.
He performed eight Tests for Pakistan, making his debut in Karachi in opposition to West Indies in 1959 as a wicketkeeper-batter. His final match got here at The Oval in opposition to England in 1962. He was the supervisor of the Pakistan staff for a tour of Australia in 1982 and headed the choice committee a few occasions. He additionally served because the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in Pakistan – the precursor to the PCB – from 1984-88.
PCB administration committee chairperson Ashraf mentioned: “On behalf of the PCB, I want to express my deepest condolences on the sad demise of Mr Ijaz Butt.
“I had the privilege of figuring out him personally and I’ve nothing however utmost respect for Mr Butt. I provide my deepest condolences to Ijaz Butt’s household and buddies, and guarantee them that he’ll all the time be remembered for the contributions he made to Pakistan cricket.”