Age against the machine: PCB stands divided over plague of overage players
Shaukat Khanum reports claim almost everyone competing in age-groups are overage
Two of the players in Pakistan’s U16 side that recently beat Australia U16 were 19. PHOTO: FILE
KARACHI:
If Pakistan’s loss to England in the limited-overs series raised alarm bells, then there is another, even bigger issue simmering just below the surface within the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) that is threatening to shake the very roots of the game in the country as the issue of dealing with ‘overage’ players has divided the board into two halves.
Questions have often been raised regarding some of the players who play in different age groups, whether it is at the inter-zonal or inter-regional levels or for the Pakistan junior teams.
But never has it been caused such rifts, with fresh medical reports revealing that almost 150 players out of the 360 named to participate for the 18 teams in the PCB U19 Inter-Region Championship were overage.
Pakistan-India series: PCB calm despite negative speculation
The PCB allows for medical tests from two hospitals — The Aga Khan University Hospital and the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre — while all reports are generated from the Shaukat Khanum.
Implemented only within the last decade, Shaukat Khanum’s medical reports reveal that a whopping 90% of the players in the regional U19 teams of Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar and Fata are overage.
Instead of taking the necessary drastic steps that the pandemic demands, several PCB members connived to sweep it under the carpet, submitting reports from another doctor in Islamabad in direct violation of the board’s own rules.
While National Cricket Academy (NCA) Game Development Director Aizad Syed and PCB’s Resident Sports Physician Dr Riaz were busy trying to counter the menace, a committee was formed to undermine their effort.
All is not doom and gloom for the Men in Green
The committee is headed by Rawalpindi Cricket Association president Major Naeem Akhtar Gillani and was formed to ‘advise on game development’; with Islamabad Regional Cricket Association president Shakil Shaikh, Peshawar’s Gul Zada, and Aizad being the other members.
“The PCB spends Rs30 million every year on game development projects for the U16 and U19 levels, but that money is being invested on cheaters and frauds,” a PCB official told The Express Tribune. “There is no point in investing on players whose average ages are over 23 but still play in U19 events.”
The official pointed out that these games are meant to prepare budding players by pitting them against the best in their age-groups, but their entire purpose is being jeopardised by overage players. “Game development matches aren’t about winning or losing but rather about the development of skills,” he said. “Genuine 16 or 17-year-olds can’t compete at the U19 level because they are being outperformed by 25-year-olds.”
Finding the right balance: All-rounders Imad, Haris being missed, says Azhar
A large number of players in the inter-region U16 level were also declared overage in a medical report, while as many as 90% of the 80 players named in the U19 Pentangular Cup are overage, according to Shaukat Khanum’s reports. The reports of hospital designated by PCB itself did not deter the junior selection committee, headed by Basit Ali, to select these clearly overage players.
“There were a couple of 19-year-olds in the Pakistan U16 side that beat Australia U16, but they were still selected,” confirmed the official. “The U19 Pentangular Cup comprises almost entirely of overage players so not only does it defeat the purpose but also makes it a bit of a joke.”
The malaise runs deep though and few within the board even acknowledge the deep-rooted issue. “There is pressure on NCA officials to not speak on this issue from PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan.”
Basit Ali, however, argued that the medical panel is to blame as the junior selection committee focuses only on the performances — once again defeating the purpose of a junior selection committee.
NCA director Aizad, meanwhile, refused to comment on the issue.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 2nd, 2015.
If Pakistan’s loss to England in the limited-overs series raised alarm bells, then there is another, even bigger issue simmering just below the surface within the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) that is threatening to shake the very roots of the game in the country as the issue of dealing with ‘overage’ players has divided the board into two halves.
Questions have often been raised regarding some of the players who play in different age groups, whether it is at the inter-zonal or inter-regional levels or for the Pakistan junior teams.
But never has it been caused such rifts, with fresh medical reports revealing that almost 150 players out of the 360 named to participate for the 18 teams in the PCB U19 Inter-Region Championship were overage.
Pakistan-India series: PCB calm despite negative speculation
The PCB allows for medical tests from two hospitals — The Aga Khan University Hospital and the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre — while all reports are generated from the Shaukat Khanum.
Implemented only within the last decade, Shaukat Khanum’s medical reports reveal that a whopping 90% of the players in the regional U19 teams of Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar and Fata are overage.
Instead of taking the necessary drastic steps that the pandemic demands, several PCB members connived to sweep it under the carpet, submitting reports from another doctor in Islamabad in direct violation of the board’s own rules.
While National Cricket Academy (NCA) Game Development Director Aizad Syed and PCB’s Resident Sports Physician Dr Riaz were busy trying to counter the menace, a committee was formed to undermine their effort.
All is not doom and gloom for the Men in Green
The committee is headed by Rawalpindi Cricket Association president Major Naeem Akhtar Gillani and was formed to ‘advise on game development’; with Islamabad Regional Cricket Association president Shakil Shaikh, Peshawar’s Gul Zada, and Aizad being the other members.
“The PCB spends Rs30 million every year on game development projects for the U16 and U19 levels, but that money is being invested on cheaters and frauds,” a PCB official told The Express Tribune. “There is no point in investing on players whose average ages are over 23 but still play in U19 events.”
The official pointed out that these games are meant to prepare budding players by pitting them against the best in their age-groups, but their entire purpose is being jeopardised by overage players. “Game development matches aren’t about winning or losing but rather about the development of skills,” he said. “Genuine 16 or 17-year-olds can’t compete at the U19 level because they are being outperformed by 25-year-olds.”
Finding the right balance: All-rounders Imad, Haris being missed, says Azhar
A large number of players in the inter-region U16 level were also declared overage in a medical report, while as many as 90% of the 80 players named in the U19 Pentangular Cup are overage, according to Shaukat Khanum’s reports. The reports of hospital designated by PCB itself did not deter the junior selection committee, headed by Basit Ali, to select these clearly overage players.
“There were a couple of 19-year-olds in the Pakistan U16 side that beat Australia U16, but they were still selected,” confirmed the official. “The U19 Pentangular Cup comprises almost entirely of overage players so not only does it defeat the purpose but also makes it a bit of a joke.”
The malaise runs deep though and few within the board even acknowledge the deep-rooted issue. “There is pressure on NCA officials to not speak on this issue from PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan.”
Basit Ali, however, argued that the medical panel is to blame as the junior selection committee focuses only on the performances — once again defeating the purpose of a junior selection committee.
NCA director Aizad, meanwhile, refused to comment on the issue.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 2nd, 2015.