Ramiz Raja has reportedly been sacked as the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) a day after the team suffered a historic Test series whitewash at the hands of England on home soil. As per various media reports from Pakistan, Najam Sethi will succeed Raja as the new chief.

England hammered their way to an eight-wicket win in the third and final Test on Tuesday to complete a historic series sweep in Pakistan. It is the first 3-0 loss in a three-Test series for Pakistan on home soil.

According to a report by Pakistani news outlet Geo TV, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has already approved the appointment of renowned journalist Najam Sethi as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman. The PM’s office is expected to issue a notification related to the development soon, as per the report.

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Najam Sethi, 73, had previously served as the Chief Executive at PCB from 2013 to 2014.

Who is Najam Sethi?

Najam Sethi is an award-winning Pakistani journalist and the editor-in-chief of The Friday Times, a Lahore-based political weekly. He also works as the host of the Najam Sethi Show.

He is the only journalist in South Asia to have received three international press freedom awards in one decade. As per his website, he is also the recipient of the Hilal-e-Pakistan, the country’s highest civil award.

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Sethi graduated from Government College, Lahore, Pakistan, in 1967 where he received the President's Gold Medal for standing first among over 50,000 students of Punjab University.

He then pursued an MA degree in Economics and Politics from Cambridge University, UK, in 1970. He was a PhD research student at Clare College from 1971 to 1972 and in 2011 he was made Alumnus of the Year by Clare College and made an honorary Eric Lane Fellow of the college.

In 1978, he established Vanguard Books, an independent publishing house and in 1989, he along with his wife, launched The Friday Times (TFT), an independent national weekly paper.

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He served as the Minister for Political Affairs & Accountability in the Federal Government of Pakistan (interim) from 1996 to 97.

He received the Journalism Under Threat Award from Amnesty International, UK, and the International Press Freedom Award from the Committee to Protect Journalists, New York in the year 1999.

Later, he served as the Chief Executive at PCB from 2013 to 2014.

His talk shows on TV and YouTube continue to enjoy high ratings.

(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)