Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Ejaj Butt said he is ready to resign if President Asif Zardari is not happy with his performance, as media reports claim.

Before leaving for Dubai, Butt told a newspaper that he was doing his best to fulfill his duties as Chairman of the board and if Zardari was still not happy, he would not mind quitting.

“I am trying to bring about improvement in Pakistan cricket with honesty and dedication but if the President is not satisfied with my performance I will hand in my resignation and go home,” Butt said.

“I have no concerns on this issue. I was given a responsibility and I am doing my best to discharge my duties,” he added.

Butt left for Dubai to meet International Cricket Council chief David Morgan and also attend an ICC meeting next week.

The meeting with Morgan is expected to end Pakistan’s resistance to the ICC moving its share of the 2011 World Cup matches to the other joint host countries — India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Pakistan had threatened to legally challenge the ICC decision to move the matches but insiders in the board have disclosed that the meeting with Morgan had been specifically scheduled to reach a compromise over the issue.

Butt, however denied that Pakistan had taken a decision not to pursue its legal action against the ICC.

Media reports have said that the English law firm hired by the PCB for the case had advised them to drop the idea of filing a legal case although Butt denied this.

He also denied that Pakistan had dropped the idea of pursuing its case with the disputes resolution tribunal of the ICC.

“We will decide on our future course of action after my meeting with Morgan. All this talk about we deciding to drop our legal challenge is premature,” Butt said.

Butt, a former Test player, has been under fire recently for his administrative abilities and the resignation of former captain Aamer Sohail last week as Director of the National Cricket Academy has given credence to rumors that Butt does not get along with anyone in the board.

Media reports said President Zardari, who is chief patron of the board, is not happy with the performance of the board and he would soon review a full report on Butt’s tenure.

Eight months after he retired from international cricket, Sourav Ganguly is all set to launch a new innings that could well see him anointed the BCCI president in five year’s time.

Please don’t dismiss this as a mere birthday wish of a left-handed stylist, who is celebrating his 37th birthday on Wednesday.

This is a realistic possibility that no one is prepared to rule out. In fact, many in the BCCI are open to the idea of Sourav becoming the BCCI president in 2014 when it is East Zone’s turn to put up a candidate for the top job, for it would necessarily mean the end of the Jagmohan Dalmiya era.

Of course, conditions do apply and the odds against him are tall, but when has that bothered the bespectacled leader who has made a career out of proving critics wrong? Sourav, for one, has made up his mind to enter the domain of cricket administration.

“I am convinced that I can play a positive role,” Sourav said in course of an exclusive interview at his Behala residence. “Having played the game at the highest level and being part of the system, I know what it takes to make a difference,” he added.

The entry point for Sourav has to be the CAB, his home association that is in a state of rut under the once powerful Dalmiya. Rumours are rife that Dalmiya’s rivals have all but convinced Sourav to contest the CAB polls later this month. However, Sourav is not prepared to rush into it.

“At some point, I will find a way to get into the CAB where people have known me since I was a kid. I have respect for them and I am sure they will appreciate my concern for Bengal cricket and the difference I can make. I am in no hurry,” Sourav said.

To get into the CAB, of course, he has to beat Dalmiya at his own game. Sourav is well aware that it took Dalmiya’s foes in the BCCI close to 15 years to throw him out. Sourav’s supporters reckon that under Dada’s leadership, the task of capturing the CAB can be achieved in a much smaller time frame.

Unless he is convinced about the numbers on his side in a 121-strong vote bank, Sourav will not jump into the poll fray this time around. He would rather wait and watch for another year. It suits him because it still leaves him with enough time to meet all the criteria to contest for BCCI’s top post.

Suggest that to Sourav, and he laughs. “It’s a possibility, but right now I am not looking that far ahead. I intend to take it step by step. Five years is a long time…,” sighed the man who could well be the most powerful man in world cricket by the time he celebrates his 40th birthday.