It didn’t take long after the PTI’s victory in the recent general elections for the country to start speculating about its repercussions. The people, after all, voted on the slogan of a Naya Pakistan; change has been promised and change will inevitably come.
One of those said changes may well be at the upper echelons of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), with it being no secret that there is little love lost between chairman Najam Sethi and incoming prime minister Imran Khan.
Imran, though, would do well to resist the urge to mix politics and sports. The Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) has gotten into trouble with the International Cricket Council for mixing politics with cricket and Pakistan would do well to avoid a similar fate. Closer to home, the Pakistan Football Federation just recently had its FIFA ban lifted for doing the same.
Sethi has many critics but no one would deny that he has done tremendous work as PCB chairman. His brainchild, the Pakistan Super League (PSL), has become the board’s most popular asset in just three years and now has the potential to become the second-biggest cricket league in the world.
The PSL has also paved the way for return of cricket in the country, with Sri Lanka, World XI and West Indies all touring Pakistan in the past couple of years.
There is also the matter of the compensation case with the BCCI, with many within the board fearing the complicated case might become even more difficult if the board is caught up in politics.
Imran came to the fore as a sportsman and must realise that little good has ever come from politicians meddling too much in sporting affairs.
Now, more than ever, it is important to let bygones be bygones. He should judge Sethi’s performance on merit, not on political likes and dislikes.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 15th, 2018.
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