Nazar blames leniency for Pakistan’s downfall

Former batsman lashes out at PCB for succumbing to pressure.

DUBAI: Former Pakistan batsman Mudassar Nazar has attributed the decline in Pakistan cricket to the leniency show in the sport during the last decade and feels that media and Pakistan Cricket Board Chief Ijaz Butt are to blame for the humiliation from the recent cricket scandals that have surfaced.

“These issues have not been imposed on us by anybody, it is our fault that our system has failed,” Nazar told The Express Tribune. “I see Ijaz and the press responsible for this mess. The press has been misguiding people.”

Nazar, who had been part of the PCB setup but opted for the International Cricket Council (ICC) after Ijaz was appointed as PCB chairman, also lashed out at the negative effect of the media on former PCB chiefs.

“There are times when people in the PCB have taken decisions under pressure by the press and I don’t think this is fair. There have been other chairmen before him who ended up making bad decisions because they were under pressure. But looking at the bigger picture, Ijaz has taken independent decisions. He’s a one-man show which isn’t a healthy for Pakistan cricket.”

Moving forward

Nazar acknowledged that Pakistan has no immediate competitive backup to replace Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif. But he also lauded the “provisional suspension” as it indicated that rules were being followed according to the system.

“I’m happy that there is a system that the cricket bodies are following, and if Pakistan did so years ago there might have not been such a big mess. It’s because there was a time when we were protecting our players which was against the spirit of the game and was damaging as well.”

Published in The Express Tribune, November 3^rd, 2010.