As a follower of the game, I am against this leniency that the PCB is showing towards Amir.
KARACHI: Najam Sethi, the interim chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), raised the issue of Mohammad Amir’s ban with the International Cricket Council (ICC) in a recent meeting and, in response, the ICC formed a committee to seek ways to reduce Amir’s ban. In a recent development, the PCB is also contemplating hiring a lawyer in order to make an effort to reduce the ban by one year. The one-year reduction in the ban will make Amir eligible for selection for the 2015 World Cup.
As a follower of the game, I am against this leniency that the PCB is showing towards Amir. Amir was not alone in the major misdemeanour he committed and if his ban is reduced, then the other two players will also ask for the same treatment. The confession of Salman Butt immediately after the PCB chairman’s statement in favour of Amir is part of the broader strategy to demand reprieve for all at a later stage.
The PCB, by tilting in favour of Amir, is compromising on discipline. The PCB should queitly let him serve the ban and then draft him in the team on the basis of his domestic performance and fitness. By asking for a reduction in Amir’s ban, the board is giving him the impression that whatever good or bad deeds he committed, the PCB is not concerned about them and that he will be part of the team eventually come what may.
In the past also, the PCB has compromised on discipline and that compromise strengthened player power in our cricketing structure. A recent example of this compromise on discipline was Pakistan’s tour of Australia of 2009-10, when many players were banned and fined for indiscipline, but all of them were later let off scot-free, with fines being waived and bans being lifted.
When Shoaib Akhter and Mohammad Asif failed drug tests, rather than punishing them severely, they were acquitted. This sent the wrong message, especially to Mohammad Asif, who continued to violate discipline and finally landed in this spot-fixing scandal. A lot of people, who argue in favour of Amir, please tell me, will you appoint a convicted burglar to work in your house or office? Pakistan is full of talent and the re-selection of Amir in the squad will send a message that if you are talented, you can do whatever you want to do and you will not be punished by the PCB.
Khurram Zia Khan
Published in The Express Tribune, July 6th, 2013.
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