Pakistan: Ijaz Butt, a former Pakistani wicketkeeper and chairman of the PCB, passed away in Lahore at the age of 85.

He was chosen as the PCB's chairman by Asif Ali Zardari, who was the president at the time, in 2008. He was in that position during one of the most turbulent and disorganized times in Pakistan's cricket history.

Eight people were killed in a terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team and match officials just five months into his administration. This attack effectively ended international cricket in Pakistan for the better part of a decade. Chris Broad, the ICC match referee, then made irate accusations of lax security, which Butt dismissed as "lies."

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During his tenure, the Pakistan captaincy changed several times, with Shoaib Malik being infamously referred to as "aloof and a loner" in a report day after he was fired. Following a disastrous tour of Australia, the PCB retaliated by imposing severe sanctions on some of its own players.

In 2010, Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf received "indefinitely" bans, Malik and Naved-ul-Hasan received one-year suspensions, and Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal, and Umar Akmal received six-month probations. A few months later, Yousuf and Younis were back playing Test cricket.

The PCB is saddened by the news of the passing of former Test cricketer and ex-PCB chairman Ijaz Butt. Our heartfelt condolences to his family and friends. pic.twitter.com/EH0UuMBfhN

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) August 3, 2023

Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif, and Mohammad Amir, three Pakistani players, were caught agreeing to bowl no-balls in a Test at Lord's in exchange for money.

Butt would also have to deal with the fallout from that scandal. The three players received lifetime bans, and Butt at least occasionally contributed to the deterioration of relations between the PCB and England.

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In 2011, Zaka Ashraf, the present chairman of the PCB, took over for Butt.

He participated in eight Tests for Pakistan, making his debut as a wicketkeeper-batter in 1959 against the West Indies in Karachi. In 1962, he played against England at The Oval in his final game. He served as the team's manager during Pakistan's 1982 tour of Australia and twice served as the committee's chairman. In addition, he worked from 1984 to 1988 as the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in Pakistan, which was the forerunner to the PCB.

The chair of the PCB management committee, Ashraf, said: "On behalf of the PCB, I want to express my deepest condolences on the sad demise of Mr Ijaz Butt.”

"I had the privilege of knowing him personally and I have nothing but utmost respect for Mr Butt. I offer my deepest condolences to Ijaz Butt's family and friends, and assure them that he will always be remembered for the contributions he made to Pakistan cricket."

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