By appointing a woman as general manager, the Multan Sultan has hit the headlines and made a PSL history.
Twenty-eight-year-old Hijab Zahid is the youngest and first woman GM in the PSL franchise’s history. She is also the only woman to be appointed as the chief of a T20 format franchise globally.
Earlier, Haider Azhar had been serving as the GM of Multan Sultan.
Media reports said Zahid acquired her master’s degree in Project Management from the University of Hertfordshire, and had an experience of working as media manager for Islamabad United.
The co-owner of Multan Sultan, Ali Tareen also announced it on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Talking to media, Zahid said, “It’s a lot harder to assert authority as a woman.” “It’s culturally harder for men to take directions from a woman. We have people in this industry who haven’t interacted with women in their lives through no fault of their own, especially in this power dynamic.
“So, I expect we’ll have a lot of conversations and workshops about having a woman in a management role here. While people are used to having women in such positions in the corporate world in Pakistan, that is less true of the sporting world.
“In the future, we want to train people as analysts, presenters, media managers. It will open doors for a lot of women.”
Ali called Zahid “South Asia’s first woman GM in men’s cricket”. He told media that Zahid was “the most qualified general manager among all PSL sides”.
The man is also to hire three women coaches before commencement of the PSL, and plans to ensure gender equality at the franchise.
