MohammadHaqueCA
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There is no denying the fact that cricket regulating bodies in almost all the cricketing nations are heavily politicized. However, the case of Pakistan, like every other national institution, is not of politicisation; rather it’s the matter of political contamination. Since the very inception of Pakistan, cricket has had its equal, and sometimes disproportionate, share of politically motivated interference aimed at achieving the non-sporting objectives in order to appease certain disgruntled political loyalists that are sickly deficient of any passion worth mentioning. Whether it’s so called democratically elected government or a boot-laced khaki clad pundit at the helm of national affairs, all have done their share destroying the game of cricket. Politics and favouritism has so deeply infiltrated into the quarters of cricketing hierarchy that any single upside-down step wouldn’t change anything rather it might abruptly destroy whatever stop-gap stability it might have achieved.
Even when the cricket governing authority in Pakistan was fortunate enough during any span of history to have a neutral and competent administrator being at the helm of its affairs, major portion of that bogeyman’s regime remained occupied with cleaning the astronomical mess that the earlier master had left. And when that person would create a breathing room in that messy filth to elevate the quality of the game and implement certain playing ethics/standards then he would himself become the victim of the favouritism’s sledgehammer. Transition of AH Kardar’s Board of Cricket Control in Pakistan (BCCP) to Nur Khan’s strong handedness would be a blatant example in this regard. The current PCB pandemonium is not an exception. What Najam Sethi or a lax octogenarian diplomat called Shehryar Khan have got to do with cricket. Or what was Zaka Ashraf’s credential except being a darling of Mr. Zardari.
When it comes to players, annals don’t tell us a different story. The team that’s playing the current world cup tournament is the same team that played wonders a couple of months ago in Dubai against Australia and New Zealand. What has gone wrong during intermittent few weeks that has cleansed every bit of cricketing skill from the dormant brains of our playing eleven? Nothing actually! The only difference is that the team was united and lacked political affiliations in Dubai, and now even a blind person can see that players are not playing as a unified unit rather they are struggling to play a laborious game at individual levels. Their body language tells us that something is bothering them. Majority of the team members are cricketing chickens except the old roosters like Younis and Misbah who both remained discarded for several years until ‘out-of-blue-good-luck’ had them and they became the indispensible part of the playing eleven. Salman Butt was a premature blue eyed boy of the kingmakers despite him being not only a newbie but a mediocre player, but no one ever put any finger on anyone who might have contributed to his elevation to the position where conventionally and historically a player of highest credentials is appointed i.e. captaincy. If he was caught with blood in his teeth for being the leader of no-ball controversy and leading the embryonic Muhammad Amir to his premature demise, where were those people who were responsible of continuously showering favours on him despite all his immoral propensities which definitely were not hidden from them? History of Pakistani cricket is replete with similar precedents. Pakistani cricket’s most corrupt player and the richest cricketer, Wasim Akram, was sinfully exonerated by the system despite there being substantial evidence against him. Justice (R) Abdul Qayyum who conducted the judicial investigation against him is on record saying that he acquitted him despite him being guilty because he ‘liked’ him.
As long as the above remain the controlling factors of Pakistani cricket, expecting better results from the current bunch of players would be a cardinal sin. As situation presents itself, it’s not just the quality of the play when it comes to Pakistani players rather it is personal integrity, honesty, national zeal, and passion that win the matches! Godspeed Pakistan!
Even when the cricket governing authority in Pakistan was fortunate enough during any span of history to have a neutral and competent administrator being at the helm of its affairs, major portion of that bogeyman’s regime remained occupied with cleaning the astronomical mess that the earlier master had left. And when that person would create a breathing room in that messy filth to elevate the quality of the game and implement certain playing ethics/standards then he would himself become the victim of the favouritism’s sledgehammer. Transition of AH Kardar’s Board of Cricket Control in Pakistan (BCCP) to Nur Khan’s strong handedness would be a blatant example in this regard. The current PCB pandemonium is not an exception. What Najam Sethi or a lax octogenarian diplomat called Shehryar Khan have got to do with cricket. Or what was Zaka Ashraf’s credential except being a darling of Mr. Zardari.
When it comes to players, annals don’t tell us a different story. The team that’s playing the current world cup tournament is the same team that played wonders a couple of months ago in Dubai against Australia and New Zealand. What has gone wrong during intermittent few weeks that has cleansed every bit of cricketing skill from the dormant brains of our playing eleven? Nothing actually! The only difference is that the team was united and lacked political affiliations in Dubai, and now even a blind person can see that players are not playing as a unified unit rather they are struggling to play a laborious game at individual levels. Their body language tells us that something is bothering them. Majority of the team members are cricketing chickens except the old roosters like Younis and Misbah who both remained discarded for several years until ‘out-of-blue-good-luck’ had them and they became the indispensible part of the playing eleven. Salman Butt was a premature blue eyed boy of the kingmakers despite him being not only a newbie but a mediocre player, but no one ever put any finger on anyone who might have contributed to his elevation to the position where conventionally and historically a player of highest credentials is appointed i.e. captaincy. If he was caught with blood in his teeth for being the leader of no-ball controversy and leading the embryonic Muhammad Amir to his premature demise, where were those people who were responsible of continuously showering favours on him despite all his immoral propensities which definitely were not hidden from them? History of Pakistani cricket is replete with similar precedents. Pakistani cricket’s most corrupt player and the richest cricketer, Wasim Akram, was sinfully exonerated by the system despite there being substantial evidence against him. Justice (R) Abdul Qayyum who conducted the judicial investigation against him is on record saying that he acquitted him despite him being guilty because he ‘liked’ him.
As long as the above remain the controlling factors of Pakistani cricket, expecting better results from the current bunch of players would be a cardinal sin. As situation presents itself, it’s not just the quality of the play when it comes to Pakistani players rather it is personal integrity, honesty, national zeal, and passion that win the matches! Godspeed Pakistan!
