Lie, cheat or steal: The key to success

Butt's decision to be an expert cricket commentator on TV is appalling; why do we promote such liars?

Salman Butt, a man who as captain of the Pakistan cricket team managed to provide us with a constant reminder that our politicians aren’t the only ones without scruples, has gotten a job as a TV expert commentator. That’s just wonderful.

The fact that they’ve hired a man who isn’t even allowed to be involved in any form of professional cricket, for the disrepute he brought to the game and to Pakistan, is absolutely disgraceful.

This poor excuse of an athlete shouldn’t be allowed to profit in any way from the game that he very skilfully helped tarnish. This is yet another sad example of how our nation loves to reward those who enjoy spitting on it.

Competition is an integral part of all sports, but fair play is the real lesson that children are supposed to take away from the game. We are taught to maintain our dignity in defeat because it is an important life lesson.

Instead, for decades now, and especially over the last five years, the Pakistan Cricket Board has come to the conclusion,

“Lie, cheat or steal, we will protect you. And if it goes to court, we will pay for the defence of your cheating, often criminal acts, and call it foreign propaganda.”

After all, let us not forget who paid for the tarnished trio’s lawyers or Mohammad Asif’s lawyers after his drug arrest in Dubai or even Mohammad Asif’s and Shoaib Akhtar’s lawyers when they were busted for using steroids.

What’s next? A panel discussion on how to throw a match between Salman Butt, Saleem Malik, Ejaz Ahmed and the rest of these sorry creatures? Or maybe Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif delivering lectures on how to use steroids to become world class pacemen?

I can hardly wait to find out.