PCB chief Shaharyar Khan to return home from London after heart surgery

Khan was initially brought in as Chairman in place of Najam Sethi for two years which expired last August. "But he is now keen to carry on and he is fine now. This is bad news for those who wanted to see his back from the board," another source said.

Karachi, Oct 19 :  Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman, Shaharyar Khan will return home from London tomorrow finally putting paid to all speculations about his stepping down from the post. The former career diplomat has been in London since last two months and underwent a heart surgery but has made a remarkable recovery despite his age of 83. “Yes Shaharyar will reach Lahore on Thursday morning and will be taking charge of the PCB affairs as soon he reaches home,” one source in the PCB told PTI.

Speculations had been rife that due to his health issues, Shaharyar might step down although in August the patron in chief of the board, Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif had asked him to carry on working for another year or so. Khan was initially brought in as Chairman in place of Najam Sethi for two years which expired last August. “But he is now keen to carry on and he is fine now. This is bad news for those who wanted to see his back from the board,” another source said. ALSO READ: Shane Watson hits back at Michael Clarke over ‘tumour’ jibe 

Khan was also unable to attend the ICC executive board meeting in Cape Town recently and Pakistan was represented by the head of the executive committee, Najam Sethi and chief operating officer, Subhan Ahmed. The source said that soon after he comes to office, the PCB Chairman has to give approval to the list of players to be awarded the new central contracts for the next 12 months and also has to take decisions on retaining or firing some senior employees in the board. Khan has been a big supporter of having bilateral cricket ties with India and has been pushing for this but in his absence in the last two months the PCB has largely maintained silence on this sensitive issue.