Najam Aziz Sethi, Chair - PCB Management Committee
Mr Najam Aziz Sethi, MA (Cantab), is an Eric Lane Fellow, Clare College, Cambridge University, and Alumnus of 2010, Clare College. He has previously served as Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board from 2013-2014 and 2017-2018, and was also the Chairman of the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) from 2016-2018. Mr Sethi is Pakistan’s most decorated independent journalist, with three international press freedom awards – Courage in Journalism Award from Amnesty International in 1999, Press Freedom Award from the Committee to Protect Journalists, New York, 1999, and the Golden Pen for Freedom from the World Association of Newspapers in 2009. He is a Founder-Editor in Chief of The Friday Times, Daily Times and Daily Aajkal, and has hosted popular primetime talk shows with premier TV News Channels, such as GEO TV and 24HD, besides hosting his own YouTube Channel Najam Sethi Official. Mr Sethi is the Chairman of the Pakistan Publishers and Booksellers Association. His publishing company, Vanguard Books, is among the leading book publishers/distributors of Pakistan. He has previously served as Vice-President of the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors. In 2010, Mr Sethi was awarded Hilal-i-Imtiaz, the highest civil award of the country, by the Government of Pakistan for the cause of democracy, civil liberties and press freedom. In 1996-97, Mr Sethi served as a cabinet member of the Federal Government of Pakistan, while in 2013, he was an all-parties consensus Interim Chief Minister of the Punjab province.
Salman Naseer (Chief Operating Officer)
A Bar-at-Law from the prestigious City Law School and Lincoln’s Inn, London, Salman Naseer joined PCB in September 2011. Before joining the PCB, as Advocate of the High Courts of Pakistan, he worked as a Law Associate at various renowned law firms in Lahore and also served as Legal Advisor to the National Bank of Pakistan and WAPDA. During his time at the PCB, he has been involved in preparation and drafting of rules, codes, policies and bylaws pertaining to regulation of cricket, conduct of cricketers, employees, coaches and support personnel; conferencing and acting on behalf of players; prosecuting players for violating PCB’s Anti-Corruption Code; drafting and vetting of tender documents and commercial contracts including for Media Rights, Franchise Rights, Licensing Rights etc.
Javed Murtaza (Chief Financial Officer)
With nearly 30 years of work experience, Javed Murtaza is a seasoned finance professional with hands-on experience in all aspects of commercial operations, financial planning and analysis, corporate finance, financial and managerial accounting, internal and external audits, international taxation and ERP implementation. Javed is a fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, a Certified Public Accountant from Virginia State Board of Accountancy, USA, who also holds Master’s degree in Business Administration degree from the USA. He has previously worked for KPMG in Toronto and Singapore, and with Ernst & Young in London. His last assignment was as head of Financial Planning and Analysis of six countries for one of the fortune-five-hundred European multinational companies operating in Pakistan.
Mickey Arthur (Director – Pakistan Men’s Cricket Team)
54-year-old Mickey Arthur is a former South Africa top-order batter who played 110 first-class matches for Free State, Griqualand West and South Africa A from 1986-2001, scoring 6,657 runs. From 2005 to 2010, he coached the South Africa men’s cricket team, while he was Australia’s first overseas coach from 2010 to 2013. His first stint with Pakistan was from 2016 to 2019 during which he led the side to No.1 rankings in Tests and T20Is, and also helped the team win the ICC Champions Trophy 2017. In December 2019, Arthur was appointed Sri Lanka coach, while in December 2021, he joined Derbyshire as their Head of Cricket. In April 2023, the PCB reappointed him as Director of the Pakistan men’s cricket team with his enhanced role including designing, formulating and overseeing strategies behind the national side. Additionally, he will also be a part of the coaching staff for Pakistan’s matches against India in the ACC Asia Cup, the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, away tour to Australia and home series against the West Indies.
Usman Wahla (Head - International Cricket Operations)
Usman Wahla has been associated with the PCB since 2009. He has seven years of experience in the International Cricket department, delivering two ICC Future Tour Programmes. He was part of the cricket operations team that led the commencement of return of international cricket in Pakistan with Zimbabwe’s tour in 2015. He has been involved in the HBL PSL since its inception in 2016, including as Head of HBL PSL 7 and Tournament Director – PSL 8. Among other responsibilities during the PCB’s flagship event, Usman also oversaw cricket operations, ticketing and negotiations with various stakeholders. Usman Wahla holds B.S.C in Hospitality Institutional Management from Johnson & Wales University, Rhode Island, USA.
Tania Mallick (Head - Women's Cricket)
Tania Mallick is a 1987-88 national badminton champion, has represented Pakistan in the 1986 Seoul Asian Games and holds a Masters degree from the LUMS University. She is the vice-president of the Punjab Olympic Association since 2010, vice-president of the Punjab Squash Association and is currently serving as a member of Pakistan Olympic Association’s Education and Women’s Commissions. She has previously worked in various multinational companies, including the World Bank Women Development Projects.
Usman Waheed (Director - Commerical)
With almost two decades of work experience, Usman Waheed specialises in franchising, marketing, revenue optimisation and data analytics. He has held leadership roles in business transformation, marketing and franchise development. Before taking over as PCB – Director Commerical, Usman worked at PepsiCo as Director Business Transformation and Director Franchise, Chief Marketing Officer at Nishat Sutas Dairy Limited, and was Vice President Edible Brands for Middle East and Asia. He has also held leadership roles at The Coca-Cola Company (Middle-East) and Nestle Pakistan Limited. Usman holds master’s degrees in Business Administration from Lahore University of Management Sciences (2002, Dean’s Honour roll) and Management and Information Systems from the University of Manchester (2003, Academic Distinction). In 2016, Usman received Indra Nooyi’s Chairman’s Award for Outstanding Contribution to Pakistan Business Turnaround that entailed market share gain, franchise value creation and trade transformation at PepsiCo.
Sami Ul Hasan (Director – Media and Communications)
A former club cricketer in Karachi, Sami Ul Hasan Burney started his career as a journalist and communications expert in 1988 with the Dawn newspaper, before joining the PCB in Lahore as its General Manager – Media in 2002. He headed sport desks of two private TV news channels between 2004 and 2006, before teaming up with the International Cricket Council in Dubai in September 2006. In March 2019, he resigned as ICC’s Head of Media and Communications to rejoin the PCB. At the ICC and apart from his communications and media relations responsibilities, he was also involved in the planning and delivery of media operations at three men’s ICC Cricket World Cups, three ICC Women’s World Cups, six ICC T20 World Cups, four ICC Champions Trophy events, four ICC U19 Cricket World Cups besides a host a regional and qualification tournaments.
Nasir Hameed (Director - Infrastructure and Real Estate)
After completing his Bachelors in Electronics Engineering from the NED University of Engineering & Technology, Nasir Hameed completed his graduation in Science in Industrial & Management Systems Engineering from the Arizona State University. He has more than 35 years of experience in project management, general management, project planning and strategic business planning. He has successfully led large multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural teams and has worked with renowned organisations such as Descon Engineering and OMV Group, the Austrian oil & gas company.
Areeba Khalil (Secretary to the Board & Senior Manager Legal)
A lawyer by profession, Areeba Khalil joined the PCB in July 2015. Having completed her studies from the University of London, enrolling as an Advocate of High Courts of Pakistan and before joining the PCB, Areeba has worked as a Legal Associate at a local law firm in Lahore, taught A Level Law at the Lahore Grammar School and also provided advisory services to various sports NGOs and organisations. She has, in the past, also served as Member of UNESCO’s Ad Hoc Advisory Committee on the Safeguarding and Protection of Traditional Sports and Games.
Faisal Hasnain (Head – Special Projects)
Faisal Hasnain is a UK qualified Chartered Accountant with a professional career of over 35 years in high-profile finance and sports administration roles. This includes 13 years with the International Cricket Council as its Chief Financial Officer in Monaco and Dubai, Managing Director of Zimbabwe Cricket in Harare and Chief Executive of the PCB in Lahore. His other high-profile assignments include Chief Executive of Dubai Golf, Chief Operating Officer of Dubai Event Management Company, Financial Controller at Citigroup/Saudi American Bank in London, Manager at Ernst & Young in Riyadh and Assistant Vice-President of Corporate Finance at Chase Manhattan in Karachi.
Zakir Khan (Special Projects)
Zakir Khan is a former Pakistan international cricketer who played two Tests and 17 One-Day Internationals from 1984 to 1990. In a 91-match first-class career for Agricultural Development Bank of Pakistan and Peshawar between 1982 and 1992, he took 294 wickets with his fast bowling. He joined the PCB in 1999 as Assistant Secretary, before looking after international cricket as Director – International. He also worked as Administrator Academies and Director – Domestic and International Cricket. He has served as team manager of the Pakistan senior, Pakistan U19 and Pakistan U16 cricket teams on various foreign tours.
