It was after several days of speculations that President Asif Zardari decided to give the coveted job to Ashraf, who is believed to be one of his close friends.

The appointment of Ashraf, who has been serving as President and CEO of the Zarai Tarqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) for the last three years, is a surprising one as there were intense speculations that senior banker Ali Reza and former Pakistan Test captain Zaheer Abbas were the frontrunners for the job.

However, a source said that Ashraf was always a strong candidate because of his close association with President Zardari, PCB’s chief patron.

Ashraf is a member of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party’s Chief Executive Committee. He and Zardari went to Petaro’s cadet college together.

Ashraf is also the chairman of the Ashraf Group of Industries and has served on important positions in the public and private sectors in the past. He was also the chairman of the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA).

The alarming fact for Pakistan cricket is that he has never been associated with the sport in any capacity.

“He (Ashraf) doesn’t have much cricketing knowledge,” a reliable source told Arab News. “He is quite media shy as well,” he added.

However, a source close to Ashraf told Arab News that the incoming PCB chairman knows exactly what he needs to do to lift Pakistan cricket following a series of setbacks in recent years.

“He (Ashraf) is well aware of the fact that Pakistan cricket is currently facing a lot of tough challenges,” said the source. “His biggest target is to help Pakistan cricket regain lost grounds. He wants Pakistan to win back its lost status in the world of cricket. That’s his biggest target,” he stressed.

According to the source, Ashraf will focus on helping Pakistan to regain its status as an important destination in international cricket. Pakistan has become a no-go area for international teams since March 2009 when Sri Lankan cricketers were ambushed by terrorists in Lahore.

Former Pakistan Test cricketers have urged Ashraf to appoint a competent team to run Pakistan cricket in a professional manner.

“I would suggest that he (Ashraf) makes a check-list of the problems facing Pakistan cricket,” said Aamer Sohail, the former Pakistan captain. “He should then look for remedies,” former Test opener told Arab News.

“The new PCB chairman should look around him and decide which of the Board official deserves to be a part of his team. Many of them have been around for years without deserving to be there.”

Aamer hoped that the new PCB chief is target-oriented. “He (Ashraf) should give himself a target. The hard fact is that we are currently at number six in world cricket.

“He will have to deal international issues and achieve domestic targets.”

While Ashraf was busy in a meeting with Zardari on Tuesday evening, his predecessor Ijaz Butt left the PCB headquarters in a hurry.

Butt, who returned home on Monday after attending an ICC meeting in Dubai, was apparently told in the afternoon that his request for an extension was turned down by Zardari. Butt’s three-year tenure ended on Oct. 8.

Before that it was business as usual for Butt, who told reporters that India have agreed to play a charity match against Pakistan to raise fund for Pakistan’s flood victims. He also confirmed that the ICC Executive Board has decided that that the next ICC chief will be either from Pakistan or Bangladesh.

A former Test cricketer, Butt flopped miserably as PCB’s chief as Pakistan cricket braved one scandal after the other during his stormy tenure.

Pakistan became a pariah in the world of cricket with international teams refusing to visit the country because of security fears. Last year, Pakistan cricket was rocked by a spot fixing scandal involving three of the country’s leading cricketers.