the system has always been in shambles. what we need is a real system that is not so dependent on individuals.
ppl always talk about the golden days of Air Marshal Nur Khan, etc. I'm personally a big fan of Shehryar Khan. but the eras of these two epitomize the problem more than anything else. these board chairmen are way too hands on. they should manage the board - not micromanage the team - doesn't matter how good they are. if they're good, we see a couple of good years like we did under Shehryar Khan. but what happened after he left? when good chairmen leave and the likes of Tauqeer Zia, etc come in, then things go to hell. you need systems - not good individuals.
I don't know who the head of the ACB, ECB, NZC, etc, is. and that's way it should be. our board is too dependent on individuals and their likes and dislikes. there're no magic bullets and there are no saviors - and we need to stop waiting for one. Imran isn't going to come in (as is the popular demand), wave a magic wand and make all the bad stuff go away.
instead what you need is someone who has experience in managing large organizations with discipline - doesn't even matter if he has cricket experience or not. the cricket experience and knowledge can come from ex-cricketers that fill the ranks of coaches, selectors, etc. the organization and management aspect of the board should be staffed by educated people with management experience - not the likes of Miandad, Qadir, etc, who can't even manage their own mouths.
The last point only holds true for countries like England. The ECB Chairman for instance does not interfere in team selection matters or even have a major say in who should be the captain. The chief selector primarily does that job. But in Pakistan because of our great love for VVIP culture in almost every sphere of public life, PCB heads see fit to meddle in every petty matter from selecting teams for various tours to appointing captains. If you watched 'cricket ka muqadma' clips, some of ex-board officials were clearly saying that the chairman almost picks the national skipper himself i.e. his personal likes and dislikes mainly decide who will be the national captain. Hence in addition to management skills some basic knowledge of cricket is also desirable.