Ramiz Raja formally elected PCB chairman

Former Pakistan batter Ramiz Raja has formally been elected PCB chairman for a term of three years after winning an unopposed election.

As widely expected, he was the only one to have submitted his nomination papers for the post and voted in by six PCB governing board members.

Nominated directly on August 27 by Pakistan's prime minister and the PCB's patron-in-chief Imran Khan, Ramiz was always a favourite for the role after it became apparent Ehsan Mani would not continue.

This is the 36th term of a PCB chairman, and Ramiz is the 30th person to assume the role. He is the fourth former cricketer to become chairman after Ijaz Butt, Javed Burki and Abdul Hafeez Kardar.

Retired judge Sheikh Azmat Saeed - an election commissioner nominated by Imran - oversaw the process that resulted in Ramiz officially ascending to the role of chairman.

Ever since his nomination, Ramiz has actively been meeting with players and PCB officials.

He is also understood to have had significant involvement in the selection of Pakistan's upcoming T20 World Cup squad.

Hours after the squad was announced, head coach Misbah-ul-Haq and bowling coach Waqar Younis submitted their resignations.

Ramiz has significantly different administrative challenges today when compared to 17 years ago.

The PCB has not yet replaced the national coaching staff with the T20 World Cup a month away.

Broadcasting and commercial rights for the Pakistan Super League, presently the top revenue generator for the PCB, are also up for renewal.

The PCB has made progress in making international tours to Pakistan a regular occurrence, and continuing that trend is likely to remain a key priority.

Over the last three years, the PCB has remodelled the domestic circuit, reducing the number of teams from 16 to six, and has even eliminated departments altogether.

Presently, all six associations have nominated board members. Ramiz has indicated he would like to change that by making them self-sufficient associations so they can have their own elected body instead of direction nominations.