!["I am withdrawing my nomination to [the] ICC Presidency with immediate effect"](https://i0.wp.com/battingwithbimal.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/183621-3.jpg?ssl=1)
“I am withdrawing my nomination to [the] ICC Presidency with immediate effect”
Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Najam Sethi has withdrawn from the International Cricket Council (ICC) presidency race as he wants the board to nominate an ex-cricketer instead.
However, Sethi will continue to hold his post as head of the PCB’s executive committee.
Sethi was set to replace Mustafa Kamal, who resigned after the World Cup, as the ICC president for a period of 12 months from July 1.
In fact, it is understood that the ICC were going to consider appointing Sethi as president during their meeting in Barbados at the end of June.
With Sethi pulling out of the race, the ICC now have exactly a month to find a suitable and qualified candidate to take over as president.
“I am writing to thank you and the other members of the ICC for nominating me as ICC President for 2015-16. It is a great honour that I shall always cherish,” Sethi wrote to the ICC. “However, since the ICC announcement that from next year the post of the ICC president will be open only to iconic Test cricketers nominated by member Boards, I have increasingly felt that it is only fitting that this rule should be implemented straightaway so that one of Pakistan’s great iconic cricketers should be so honoured.
“Under the circumstances, I am withdrawing my nomination to [the] ICC Presidency with immediate effect and requesting the Board of Governors of the Pakistan Cricket Board to nominate an great Pakistani ex-Test cricketer in my place.”