Even the talented Amir is not indispensable

We should not be willing to compromise ethics for cricketing gains.

From the moment the News of the World published the spot-fixing story, the cricketing world, it seemed, was taken by storm. A large number of Pakistani cricket fanatics went about expressing soft sentiments for young Mohammad Amir and each had their own argument.

The majority seemed to converge on two points: that he is exceptionally talented and is young, with a good amount of cricket stamina left in him.

This school of thought seems to believe that the young fast-bowler should be given a second chance to play sooner than the expiration of the five-year ban imposed by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Fans are fans and they will always want to see their heroes in action at any cost, so they can’t be blamed for their emotions. But the authorities that are administering the game have a greater responsibility. Their role should be to refrain from transmitting a one-sided opinion. If a cricket board chief hints at having a soft corner for a player, then it should not be appreciated.

The aforementioned points that are playing their role in seeing Amir’s early return to the field are not persuasive enough for me. I disagree with statements like “he is very young and was trapped” simply because he was not young enough in terms of the experience he carried under his belt.

My question to everyone is — what if Amir was not exceptionally talented? Would your reaction have still been the same?

By incessantly talking about Amir’s return, the Pakistan cricket authorities are indicating to the world that we are probably short of talent in Pakistan or willing to compromise ethics for cricketing gains. What this does, combined with our previous indiscretions, is raise questions about whether talent is the only decisive factor when considering the fate of a player involved in malpractice.

Amir mentioned in his first interview to Sky News that since he was “not used to bowling no-balls” he had to practise rigorously before he was able to make those notorious deliveries at Lord’s. Here, I agree with him, because his track record suggests the same — 14 tests and 24 no-balls — but one wonders what happened in his seventh Test match, where he over-stepped 13 times.

Keeping this point in mind, I would like to remind you all about the incident where Amir was seen talking on his mobile phone during a domestic match in Pakistan and was also penalised for it. Therefore, describing him as completely innocent and only a victim of the trap allegedly set by former skipper Salman Butt and others, is not an argument I am willing to digest so easily.

If the environment is deliberately being moulded in Amir’s favour, then this shows that either we, in Pakistan, are short of talent and don’t believe that there is another Amir present in the entire country, or we don’t want Amir to open up any further so that any other possible culprit can remain unharmed.

If, at the end of the day, the Pakistan Cricket Board or the ICC want to cleanse the game of cricket from corruption once and for all, then the ‘zero-tolerance’ motto must be implemented in its true letter and spirit.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 15^th, 2013.

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