Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ramiz Raja has been pretty vocal since his ouster from the governing body. Raja blamed the current government appointed Najam Sethi as the chairman of the board just for the sake of vendetta. He also claimed that he was not even allowed to collect his belongings from the office after he was sacked at midnight.
Notably, last Thursday, Raja was removed as PCB chairman by the country's government, which appointed a 14-member committee, headed by Najam Sethi, to run the affairs of the game for the next four months.
"Najam Sethi tweets at 2 in the night that Ramiz Raja is out. Is this respect for a former captain? I was not even allowed to go to the office and collect my belongings," Ramiz said on Monday on his YouTube channel.
"The morning after the announcement was made to remove me they were around 17 people running all over the PCB offices as if they owned it. "It was as if I had committed some crime and I would take some incriminating evidence from my office. What tamasha is this? These people have just come to enjoy themselves and get the publicity... they know nothing about cricket."
Now, PCB has released a statement replying to Raja’s allegations and also threatening to take legal action. The statement also said that Ramiz's comparison of his and the current chairman's expenses during his previous term is misleading and inaccurate as the circumstances are incomparable.
“The PCB believes former Chairman Mr. Raja’s comments are aimed at tarnishing and damaging the impeccable reputation of present Chairman Mr Sethi, adding it reserves its rights to pursue legal proceedings to protect and defend the image and credibility of its Chairman and the institution,” said PCB in a statement.
"Pakistan Super League 2016 to 2018 were held offshore, implying many visits to the UAE to organize the marquee tournament. However, no PSL allowances have ever been paid to current chairman Sethi and this information has been merely presented as a potential payable.
"In contrast, PSL 2022 was held under former chairman Mr. Raja and was staged only in Karachi and Lahore. "Foreign tour expenses are high for current chairman Mr. Sethi as, during his previous tenure, PSL and Pakistan's home international matches were played outside Pakistan.
"Therefore, the current chairman was required to make frequent visits to the UAE for PSL and bilateral series and for related meetings. All travel expenses were approved by the appropriate authorities and were duly audited (internally and externally)."
