LAHORE: A new faction, led by former Lahore Region Cricket Association President Shahrez Rokhri and organiser Wasif Zaman, has been formed ahead of forthcoming elections of Lahore Region Cricket Association.
The Azad Group’s demands include abolition of the newly-created zones holding of fair Lahore Region elections after putting ad hoc on LRCA so that no one could influence the voting clubs. This faction, calling itself as Azad Group, held a press conference on Saturday to level a series of accusations against the current Lahore Regional Cricket Association leadership ahead of regional elections.
The representatives of this group were of the view that merit has not been taken into consideration while creating new electoral zones. Speakers were of the view that recent changes threaten club cricket and the traditional talent pipeline from Lahore.
They were of the view that the performers were being overlooked. “Performers are not getting chances to play.” arguing that selection and opportunity in Lahore cricket are no longer merit-based. Azad Group’s stance was was that the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) regional map for Lahore has been altered without proper sign-off.
One of speaker at the press conference Tahir Shah said no other region in the country had seen a similar increase in zones. One of the speaker at the press conference said clubs were initially examined under a three-zone structure and then “suddenly five zones have been made.” The speakers further said club cricket is being harmed and that organisers face threats of “revenge actions.”
Shahrez Rokhri congratulated the PCB for its national development work but insisted Lahore’s elections must be conducted transparently. The Azad Group’s demands include abolition of the newly created zones holding of fair Lahore Region elections after putting ad hoc of LRCA so that no one could influence the voting clubs. As the Lahore Regional Cricket Association elections are due soon the Azad Group wanted transparent elections after imposing ad hoc of LRCA.
