The PCB circus
PCB and their ‘experienced’ Cricket Committee may have overlooked a few things
PHOTO: AFP
Wholesome changes are good but only if you are confident that the root cause of the problem is being eliminated and there is no other option other than starting with a clean slate.
The PCB is famous for making wholesome changes in an attempt to uproot the evil and bring in new systems for the wellbeing of players and increasing the performance of the teams in all formats.
But if history has taught us anything it is that PCB’s radical approach has never really paid off. They might have solved one or two problems with the changes they make, but on many occasions it has led to the birth of many others.
Their recent decision to sack head coach Mickey Arthur, batting coach Grant Flower, bowling coach Azhar Mahmood and trainer Grant Luden is not a sign of new and better things to come, but once against a hope to start afresh and maybe, just maybe become consistent in all three formats.
However, to solve a particular problem, you need to first identify the root cause. Arthur and others may be one part of the cause of all the problems that have seen Pakistan’s performances in Tests and ODIs slump, but there are many other things that the PCB and their ‘experienced’ Cricket Committee may have overlooked.
First of all, if all is being blamed on the management and they are being shown the door, then the PCB is setting a wrong example for the players, who will now feel that they are doing enough and the problem were the coaches.
This may result in complacency, which is never good, especially in the case of the Pakistan cricket team, because it becomes very difficult to pull them out of it once they have dived deep into that mode.
Moreover, with the World T20 just a year away, Pakistani players will be asked to match their wavelengths with a new coaching staff and follow the regime of a new head coach. The probability of a catastrophe or a miracle then stands at 50% each.
And lastly and most importantly, if Pakistan are to become consistent in all three cricketing formats, they don’t need a new management, they need a different set of players for each format and most probably a new captain for each format so that one player is not under pressure to carry the team, always.
Right now, Sarfaraz has been leading in Tests and limited-overs for over three years now, but the PCB forgot to nurture future leaders for all formats under him as they never appointed any vice-captains under him. Even if they did, they never looked like they were playing any part in the on-field decisions.
If PCB had a futuristic approach, they would have never gone for Shoaib Malik to lead the side in the absence of Sarfaraz. However, they did just that, which shows this new PCB management, under Ehsan Mani, is doing what all before them have been doing: promising a lot, but delivering the same sub-standard policies.
The PCB is famous for making wholesome changes in an attempt to uproot the evil and bring in new systems for the wellbeing of players and increasing the performance of the teams in all formats.
But if history has taught us anything it is that PCB’s radical approach has never really paid off. They might have solved one or two problems with the changes they make, but on many occasions it has led to the birth of many others.
Their recent decision to sack head coach Mickey Arthur, batting coach Grant Flower, bowling coach Azhar Mahmood and trainer Grant Luden is not a sign of new and better things to come, but once against a hope to start afresh and maybe, just maybe become consistent in all three formats.
However, to solve a particular problem, you need to first identify the root cause. Arthur and others may be one part of the cause of all the problems that have seen Pakistan’s performances in Tests and ODIs slump, but there are many other things that the PCB and their ‘experienced’ Cricket Committee may have overlooked.
First of all, if all is being blamed on the management and they are being shown the door, then the PCB is setting a wrong example for the players, who will now feel that they are doing enough and the problem were the coaches.
This may result in complacency, which is never good, especially in the case of the Pakistan cricket team, because it becomes very difficult to pull them out of it once they have dived deep into that mode.
Moreover, with the World T20 just a year away, Pakistani players will be asked to match their wavelengths with a new coaching staff and follow the regime of a new head coach. The probability of a catastrophe or a miracle then stands at 50% each.
And lastly and most importantly, if Pakistan are to become consistent in all three cricketing formats, they don’t need a new management, they need a different set of players for each format and most probably a new captain for each format so that one player is not under pressure to carry the team, always.
Right now, Sarfaraz has been leading in Tests and limited-overs for over three years now, but the PCB forgot to nurture future leaders for all formats under him as they never appointed any vice-captains under him. Even if they did, they never looked like they were playing any part in the on-field decisions.
If PCB had a futuristic approach, they would have never gone for Shoaib Malik to lead the side in the absence of Sarfaraz. However, they did just that, which shows this new PCB management, under Ehsan Mani, is doing what all before them have been doing: promising a lot, but delivering the same sub-standard policies.