Ramiz Raja says "political interference" was root cause of his removal as PCB chairman

Ramiz was less than halfway through a three-year tenure when he was summarily dismissed by the new Pakistan prime minister Shahbaz Sharif earlier this month

Ramiz Raja has branded his removal as PCB chairman as "political interference".

Ramiz was less than halfway through a three-year tenure when he was summarily dismissed by the new Pakistan prime minister Shahbaz Sharif earlier this month. The rest of the PCB board were also relieved of their duties, with a 14-person management panel introduced in their place - headed by Najam Sethi.

The new board is set to rip up the 2019 PCB contitution, reverting to its previous 2014 iteration instead. A series of structural changes made over the course of the past three years - including the move away from department teams to a smaller number of state sides - are also primed to be reversed.

Ramiz spoke about the events of recent weeks on his YouTube channel, describing what has happened "a joke".

"It's frustrating when you are told to step aside after 12 months when you were given a term of three years," he was quoted as saying by local media outlets. "I would say it's political interference because you want to recruit someone politically.

^{Ramiz Raja has said "political interference" was to blame for his dismissal as PCB chairman [Getty Images]}

^{Najam Sethi has replaced Ramiz [Getty Images]}

"It will not help cricket and it won't help with the [lack of] continuity. It leads to pressure on the cricket board, the system, the national team and the captain. The constitution has to be robust. It happens only in Pakistan.

"I will continue to raise the subject on international platforms. It has become a joke."

The ICC has rules which guard against political interference within cricket, but the nature of the Pakistani system - which is tied to the political landscape in the country - makes the situation more complex.

It is only three years since the global governing body banned Zimbabwe from competing after politicians suspended Zimbabwe Cricket and put an interim management board of their own in charge. 

But the PCB's constitution allows for its patron - the prime minister - to make nominations to its board, one of whom can be installed as chairman.

^{Ramiz was less than halfway through his three-year tenure [Getty Images]}

^{Sethi is leading a 14-person management panel [Getty Images]}

Sethi has said that Ramiz would be welcome to return to media work with the PCB in the future, but plenty of ill-feeling may have to be buried for that to happen.

"Politics should not be mixed up in cricket," Ramiz said. "This is a game of cricketers and a playing field for them. Some people come from outside the circle, and to adjust one person [Sethi], they had to change the entire constitution. I have not seen this anywhere in the world.

"There is etiquette to do things and it has been done in the middle of the season when teams are visiting Pakistan. Then you have changed the chief selector [Mohammad Wasim] regardless of him doing good or bad. He has played Test cricket for Pakistan, and you should make them leave with respect."

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