PCB’s applaudable efficiency

The second edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) delivered way more than everyone had expected in terms of entertainment and on the monetary scale too, but one small hiccup — the spot-fixing scandal — did cause the reputation of the event to wither down a little.

Although the fiasco was handled in a near-perfect way by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), rather unexpectedly though, the wrongdoings of Islamabad United duo Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Latif were expected to haunt the board and the fans once the tournament was over.

And here it is now, the talk of the town has once again turned towards the impending punishment that both batsmen face after the investigation is done and dusted with.

Meanwhile, an important turn in the events came when Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan demanded the investigation to be carried forward quickly and efficiently by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). Nisar was of the opinion that the cricketers had brought shame to Pakistan’s name and a detailed probe would ensure clarity of the country’s vision on corruption.

Moreover, PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan’s clearance of Karachi Kings opener Shahzaib Hasan was also questioned when, on Friday, the PCB’s Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) called him and Islamabad United pacer Mohammad Irfan in for further questioning.

Five players were initially named in the scandal which surfaced after the first match of the PSL including Quetta Gladiators spinner Zulfiqar Babar apart from the aforementioned four players. The PCB, according to Shaharyar, is looking at strict punishments — most probably life bans — for all who are convicted of the under-investigation felony. Meanwhile, the opinion of former players and cricket pundits is also concurrent that an example should be made out of the ones found guilty.

Whatever the results maybe at the end of it all, two things are due from the onlookers: appreciation of the PCB’s efficiency in this matter and firm condemnation of the aberrant acts by the players.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 12^th, 2017.

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