PCB CEO Wasim Khan admits to not being welcomed in Pakistan for taking up top cricket job

Pakistan Cricket Board’s CEO Wasim Khan was provided with the opportunity to run Pakistan cricket in 2018. The appointment of Wasim Khan as the CEO of the PCB had surprised many because he was technically a foreigner, since he lived in England for most of his life. Before coming on board with the PCB, Wasim Khan had some experience under his belt as he had led the Leicestershire County Cricket Club and became the first non-white chief executive of a major professional British sports team.

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PCB CEO Wasim Khan opens up on hostile treatment in Pakistan

Recently, Wasim Khan opened up on the constant criticism that he has had to face in Pakistan. While speaking to The New York Times, Wasim Khan said that nothing prepared him for the hostility he was going to face in Pakistan. Khan added that the people in Pakistan put him on the back foot right from the beginning. Wasim Khan,, who moved to Lahore last year where the PCB is based, has been fiercely criticised for the changes he has set in motion.

The PCB CEO is also mocked for his European upbringing, the languages he speaks and his accent. However, the thing that he is reminded of daily is how he is not Pakistani enough for the job and is donning a role that should be reserved for a Pakistani citizen.

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Wasim Khan also recalled how the Board of Governors didn’t accept his appointment which went everywhere on the news and left his family worrying. Khan revealed that his wife rang him in tears saying that he was on every TV station as the media was saying that he was not going to have a job anymore. Khan had to assure his wife that everything will get sorted and she doesn’t need to worry.

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Wasim Khan opened up on how he was severely criticized by former Test cricketer Javed Miandad in a YouTube video. Javed Miandad had questioned Khan’s appointment asking if there a shortage of people in Pakistan that they had to bring people from abroad.

Wasim Khan took over as the CEO of the PCB after amendment in the constitution in 2018. He and chairman Ehsan Mani were subjected to relentless criticism after they suspended departmental cricket as suggested by Prime Minister Imran Khan, who preferred quality over quantity.

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IMAGE COURTESY: PAKISTAN CRICKET TWITTER