Zaka Ashraf is likely to head the PCB once again.

With his nomination and that of Supreme Court attorney Mustafa Ramday to the PCB board of governors, former PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf has moved one step closer to recovering his position.

The change happened the day after Najam Sethi, who is in charge of the temporary management team that will oversee the PCB until June 21st, withdrew from consideration for the position of board chairman.

As has been customary in Pakistani cricket, the Prime Minister’s appointment to the PCB board of governors determines who is elected to lead the board for a three-year term. Ashraf is the clear favourite to win, with the election process typically being a formality.

Sethi had stated on Twitter when announcing his resignation: “I don’t want to be a point of friction between Asif Zardari and Shehbaz Sharif. Such unpredictability and volatility are bad for PCB. Given the facts, I am not a candidate for PCB Chairmanship. Good luck to all parties involved.

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The political hedonism surrounding the chairmanship was the subject of Sethi’s tweet. The PCB is supported by Pakistan’s current prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif. Ashraf is believed to be the candidate of Asif Ali Zardari, a significant coalition partner in the present administration and a former president of Pakistan with the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).

Typically, Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party would choose the PCB chairman. But during the past few weeks, the PPP has asserted that they have the right to select a candidate of their choosing because they are in charge of Pakistani sports through the ministry for inter-provincial coordination (IPC).

With Ashraf’s return after a nine-year absence, the tug of war between him and Sethi between 2013 and 2014 is over—at least for the time being. At the time, the chairmanship was the subject of a protracted legal dispute between the two, with the role changing hands multiple times. When Shehbaz’s older brother, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, ultimately fired Ashraf and appointed Sethi, the matter appeared to be resolved. But Sethi was forced to make room for Ashraf after several days of vigorous negotiation between the two groups.

Since Ramiz Raja’s resignation as chairman and the cancellation of the board’s 2019 constitution in December, Sethi has been leading PCB on an interim basis. In the beginning, Sethi’s committee was granted 120 days to reestablish the 2014 constitution, under which the PCB was governed, as well as the regional and department structures used in domestic cricket. A committee was also charged with creating a board of governors and choosing a chairman.

That resulted in the elimination of the six-team provincial cricket setup that had Imran Khan’s support when it was established. Domestic organisation will now be based on 16 areas, with departments making a comeback. Four departments and four areas will each have a seat on the PCB board for a period of three years.

In accordance with the 2014 constitution, the PCB must also appoint 10 members to its board of governors, including four of the 16 regional delegates, four representatives of service organisations, and two patron-nominated members.

The hiring of a coaching team for Pakistan that is primarily from abroad has also been managed during the past six months by Sethi’s management committee, with former head coach Mickey Arthur being named the part-time director of cricket.

Pakistan’s hosting of the Asia Cup and its connection to Pakistan’s probable participation in the World Cup, due to be held in India in October-November this year, was one of the trickier topics that preoccupied Sethi throughout his brief tenure. Sethi mentioned three days ago that the Pakistani government must approve Pakistan’s participation in the event. One of the more urgent challenges for Sethi’s successor to address is that.