No Action Will Be Taken Against Misbah-ul-Haq Over Islamabad United Head Coach Role

Former Pakistan skipper and current head coach-cum-chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq is holding multiple roles in Pakistan cricket. Many experts told Misbah’s recruitment as head coach of Pakistan could put the Pakistan Cricket Board in trouble as his affiliation with Islamabad United will be a conflict of interest.

There were also reports and widespread speculations that action will be taken against Misbah-ul-Haq over his role as Islamabad United’s head coach. However, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ehsan Mani made it clear that no action will be taken against him.

Mani comes to Misbah-ul-Haq’s defence

Even former Pakistan skipper Moin Khan had earlier voiced his disapproval towards Misbah-ul-Haq having such an important role with the Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise. Nonetheless, Mani came to Misbah’s defence by saying that Misbah-ul-Haq already had a contract with Islamabad United.

“Yes I had said earlier that there will be no conflict of interest, and I still stand by it, but in Misbah’s case we were told that he already had a contract with Islamabad United so we had to honour it,” he added.

As far as Indian cricket is concerned, according to Lodha recommendations, one cannot hold more than one post at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). It is to be noted that conflict of interest has been a major concern for Indian cricket. After Anurag Thakur stepped down as BCCI president in 2017, several former great players couldn’t contribute to Indian cricket owing to Conflict of Interest clause.

Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble were in a scenario where they let go of their dual roles for different other commitments. Ganguly also opened up that he hasn’t been able to bring former greats on board due to conflict of interest. He had also stressed on the fact that the conflict of interest should only apply to administrators and not for cricketers.

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It should be noted that Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly were brought in as a part of a three-member Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) but had to resign after Conflict of Interest charges were brought against the three legends. After they resigned from the posts, the former India captain Kapil Dev was named the chairman of the committee, including Anshuman Gaekwad and Shantha Rangaswamy.

However, after giving an extension spell to India’s head coach Ravi Shastri, Kapil Dev and his team stepped down from their respective posts leaving the committee vacant. It remains to be seen whether BCCI President Sourav Ganguly can get rid of the conflict of interest clause. If it turns to be successful, then Indian cricket might benefit a lot.