Sports

Cricket is my bread and butter

Players’ livelihoods are threatened pursuing a place in the national side.

Umar Farooq April 15, 2011

LAHORE:

It is a fact that cricket in Pakistan is a profession and not just a sport and hence those whose livelihoods depend on it, overlook their education to make the most of whatever chance they get. While some reach the highest level, others find the going tough and act their trade as far as the first-class competitions.

Former spinner and current sports administrator Iqbal Qasim understands this but also admits that players’ livelihoods are threatened pursuing a place in the national side.

“Youngsters from humble backgrounds adopt it as a profession and ignore their education,” Qasim told The Express Tribune. “No doubt cricket is a full-fledged profession but in Pakistan most boys start with the dream of making it to the top but if they fail they’re left with nothing.”

Every year, the number of inductees into first-class cricket rises by 40 per cent, according to research carried out by The Express Tribune. With the game enjoying maximum popularity, around 50,000 full-time players from local clubs are officially registered with their respective associations: A huge figure if one was to consider that only a handful will play for Pakistan in the future.

Qasim, agreeing with the increasing quantity of players each year, believed that transition from first-class cricket was a difficult task. “The quality is going down because the resources are not enough. We have the talent in the country but that needs maturing before it can be thrown at the international level.”

Player opens cricket shop to fill off-season gap

While many talented players fail to complete their journey, some counter the situation by launching their own businesses to fill the off-season gap. Shoaib Khan has similarly opened a cricket shop to earn his bread and butter when there is no cricket.

“Since cricket is my life, a goods shop is the best idea,” the former Pakistan opener told The Express Tribune. “I adopted cricket as full-time profession but things are not going well. I used to go to England to play league cricket during the off-season but those doors have been closed as well.”

Players lack cricket education too

While formal education is also found wanting, Qasim believed that most players lack the technical expertise in the sport as well.

“One needs to be aware of the knowhow of cricket and well qualified to coach as well,” added Qasim. “In England, these players are employed in schools and academies to train the kids during the off-season.”

If one was to concede Qasim’s point, a first-class cricketer can be formally inducted into the coaching staff and then employed by various schools and academies and according to the off-spinner, the arrangement should be done through the cricket board. This way, he felt, that players can make money during the off-season as well.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 16^th, 2011.

COMMENTS (9)

Anwar | 13 years ago | Reply @sarfaraz akhlaq: I strongly agree with you. Look at Dhoni, although he shaved his head due to a religious obligation he never admitted that he did it for god. He said he wants to take of the weight in the summer. Religion and sports can not be mixed. Professionalism should be injected in to the players. All players needs to have basic knowledge of english. Look at the way Dhoni handles media and look at our own Afridi.

Adnan | 13 years ago | Reply PCB should adpot a strategy to educate and groom player at grassroot level rather than come in national side train them. Cricketer should focus on their education alongwith their game that help him to overcome their financial crisis.

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ali | 13 years ago | Reply @sarfraz and @ shoaib hello hello, the subject of this article was something else man. it was never the religion and now that you have brought it in, what proof do you have that Mohammad Yusuf was forced to change his religion... If that was the case, then Muhammad Yusuf should have reverted to his old religion by now. and please praying is a must for all Muslims and if afridi prays and all the players follow him this is a good sign not something to crticise on. We all are Muslims and Namaz to us is fundamental and more important than anything else. So please let cricket be cricket, don't involve it with religion... our cricket is all ready surrounded by other controversies so it is better we keep our conspiracy theories to ourselves.

Arif Z | 13 years ago | Reply @Saleem: But to the rest of the world that sucks! Think about others as well and learn to be socially accepted than being premitive

Mirza | 13 years ago | Reply The current players are a bunch of lazy (hence bad fielding) uneducated, lawless, selfish and cheats. They have done everything that is not fair or cricket. One small example is when Afridi was caught chewing the ball I happened to be in Pakistan. I told my family then and there that "he is going to be rewarded with Captain-ship because he represents what Pakistan is today and fits like a gem in the ring". None of these clowns know how to represent their country. Compare this with A.H.Kardar, Imran, Zaheeer, Asif Iqbal, etc. Afridi represents Pakistan in place of Imran Khan if this is not an insult then what is? In the US National Basketball most players are chosen from colleges after 16 years of education. Same goes in American Football. When players are introduced before each game they mention their college name as well. There are very few players with only high school (12 years) education. The author is talking about education/training and coaching which is kind of a novel idea in Pakistan. Education and training can polish these individual, selfish, thugs and mold them into active, players of greatness. If you look at any of the current players except Younus, none of them is in the category and class of Hanif, Fazal, Miandad, Zaheer, Majid, Imran, Akram, Waqar, etc. If this is not a decline then what is? One more proof, if one compares the 1993 team that won the World Cup with the current for every position my point would be clear. There should be a minimum education and formal training for the selection. Just look at the education level of other cricket team members. Also look at the other teams like Bangladesh and other Muslim players, none of them make a scene of their religion and players. Every player has private moments in lunch and dressing room and they can do whatever they want. The "Sajda" is good and one has to be thankful to God but privately and with humbleness. Why not be thankful to God when out at zero or in case of defeat. Muslims have to be thankful to God in every situation, should',t they be? Mirza, USA

Saleem | 13 years ago | Reply @Sarfaraz & @Shoaib: Firstly, the article is about something entirely different. Secondly, you guys have no proof for those preposterous allegations. If you have any proofs, please show it. All players have every right to practise their religion freely, and if they choose to take 5 minutes from their practise to offer namaz in the ground, it is not ethically, morally, or legally wrong AT ALL. So SHUT UP!

ahmed | 13 years ago | Reply @ sarfaraz akhlaq ... you know majority of Pakistanis are religious not extremist. Its you sound like an extremist one

shoaib bilwany | 13 years ago | Reply the tableeghi jamaat's brainwashing of our cricket team has destroyed pakistani cricket.They have created a hostile atmosphere in the dressing room for any one not an extremist muslim.The whole emphasis seems to be on furthering the political agenda of this extremist organisation & forgetting cricket.That's why we see afridi leading prayers on the ground with a whole row of cricketers following behind him as these public displays of religious rituals are a hit with the illeterate portion of our public. the govt. should take action to ensure our cricketers start refocusing on what they get paid to do & not on wasting their time by working on the agenda of the religious barbarians.

sarfaraz akhlaq | 13 years ago | Reply well,our cricket team was infiltrated by an extremist religious organisation which created an atmosphere where yousuf youhana was forced to convert to islam.This same extremist organisation has a staundh & loyal follower in the form of shahid afridi,that's why he has brought in public displays of dogmatic religious rituals into the cricket culture of pakistan. We should dread the day when one of our cricketers on being dropped decides to strap a suicide belt on & attack pcb's offices to get his 72 virgins.

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