Cricketers or evangelists?

Discussing religion on the cricket field is a complete contravention of the spirit of the game advocated by the ICC

The unsavoury episode between Ahmed Shehzad and Tillakaratne Dilshan has once again highlighted a thorny issue, often brushed under the carpet by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) — the emergence of the evangelist mindset in the national team.

In recent years some members of the Pakistan team have turned religious and have found solace in the company of evangelists or preachers and are perhaps keener than ever to project a religious lifestyle.

Under a similar pretext, Shehzad nonchalantly indulged in a conversation with Dilshan at the end of the final ODI against Sri Lanka, telling him the importance of converting to Islam in order to guarantee a place in heaven. Pakistan team members have been praying publicly for many years now and the practice started during the reign of the former team coach the late Bob Woolmer. Woolmer openly embraced the idea, but one is not sure if he felt comfortable with the exhibitionism or felt necessary to oblige, simply to assimilate easily with the shift in the team culture. After the retirement of Inzamamul Haq and the fading away of Mohammad Yousuf, senior players like Shahid Afridi encouraged new team members to follow the pursuit.

While there is nothing wrong with any sportsman who wants to practise his faith, however, the cricket board reasonably pays the players hefty fees for playing the game.

Discussing religion on the cricket field is a straightforward breach of the contracts that the players sign and a complete contravention of the spirit of the game advocated by the ICC. In this context, an alarmed Shaharyar Khan, the newly-installed chairman of the PCB, informed the media last week that Shehzad’s breach is serious enough for the board to initiate an inquiry.

One cannot disagree with the view that if the player wants to preach faith to others by all means, then he should stop being a professional cricketer.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 10^th, 2014.

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