Pakistan lose a controversial yet strong administrator as Ijaz Butt passes away

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Pakistan cricket lost one of its most controversial, colourful and strong administrators when the indomitable Ijaz Butt passed away in his hometown, Lahore, due to health issues. The history of Pakistan cricket will remain incomplete without discussing the tenure of Butt, who passed away on Wednesday, aged 85. He played eight Tests for Pakistan and held several key administrative positions.

From being a member of the 1987 Reliance World Cup organising committee to a four-year tenure as secretary of the Pakistan Cricket Board in the 80s to managing the senior team and finally heading the PCB from 2008 to 2011, Butt did everything on his own terms. Perhaps, no Pakistan cricket chief has been as bold but also as stubborn as Butt who once had the courage to even turn down a request from the then President of Pakistan. Former President Asif Ali Zardari had appointed Butt as PCB chief in 2008.

But Zardari was told in clear words during a packed meeting that it would not be possible for the board to move the national T20 championship from Lahore to Karachi as he desired. That was Butt in a nutshell. He was never afraid of getting entangled in controversies that could have been handled with more tact.

It was little wonder then that Butt's tenure as PCB chairman was one of the most controversy ridden times in Pakistan cricket. Nothing embodied it more than the banning of senior players like Mohammad Yousuf, Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi or Kamran Akmal. Soon after Butt took charge of the PCB, the terror attack took place in Mumbai.