Apparently uspet with the working style of PCB Chairman Ejaz Butt, Federal Sports Minister Aftab Shah Jillani wants to bring the Cricket Board under the complete control of his ministry.

Jillani has criticised the PCB affairs and questioned the recent appointments of former Test players in the Board by Butt.

"The director-general, the chief selector, the national team coach are all giving out statement after statement and there appears to be no one to check them and all this is creating a lot of confusion," Jillani had said.

He said there was need to bring the Board under the Sports Ministry to control its lavish spendings and also make the paid employees more accountable, who were creating unnecessary controversies with their statements.

Ever since the resignation of Nasim Ashraf as PCB Chairman last August, the Sports Ministry is getting involved in cricket affairs although for years the PCB has functioned independently.

Sources said that Jillani's anger at the Board perhaps had something to do with the fact that he was initially offered the post of PCB Chairman but he turned it down and might be regretting it now.

Sources say Jillani, a veteran member of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party, had few months back turned down the offer to head the board because he belonged to a group of PPP members who were not happy with the way President Asif Zardari was conducting party and government affairs.

"But now that many of the members of that protesting group have been accommodated in the government and given more respect, Jillani feels he should have accepted the Board position," one source close to him said.

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