No silver lining for Pakistan cricket
Planning is as minimal as it gets and the term ‘temporary arrangement’ is always our ‘rational’ response.
The writer is a former Sports In charge at The Express Tribune
If ever there was a need to find a silver lining, it is now. Pakistan cricket’s administration is as confusing as it is annoying. Even journalists — let alone fans — find it hard to keep up with the news updates at the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) headquarters. The national squad finds new and innovative ways to let down fans. Even with all the individual talent and experience, Pakistan received a thrashing at the hands of South Africa when, in all fairness, the encounters between the two teams were supposed to be close ones. Instead, fans got to see the opposition cakewalk all over Pakistan.
On the administrative front, things are no different. From Najam Sethi’s appointment as acting PCB chairman and then caretaker chief to his recent post of head of an ‘Interim Management Committee’ (IMC), it has become clear that nothing seems to be in control. Sethi, for all practical purposes, continues to be the main man administering Pakistan cricket at the moment. Jolted by a court ruling every now and then, he continues to find a way out. His appointment by the prime minister, the defacto PCB patron, was followed by the dissolution of the governing board. The next development was the formation of the IMC, which saw Sethi become head once again, but this move was slapped by another court suspension before it was overturned. It has become clear that the PCB head will continue enjoying the backing of the prime minister, while the Islamabad High Court (IHC) carries on making it tough for him to do his job. According to a recent IHC ruling, certain conditions have to be met by those hoping to contest elections for the post of PCB chairman, the two most prominent being that candidates should be graduates and secondly, should have played Test or first class cricket, conditions which automatically disqualify the current PCB head.
For 65 years, the PCB was unable to frame a constitution. When it finally did make one, things backfired. What Zaka Ashraf, former PCB chairman who was handed suspension papers, did was wrong — ignoring major regional cricket associations during the election process for the post of chairman — but that has not been followed by anything better either with the PCB resorting to the old, traditional way of dealing with issues: the ever-popular adhoc system, which is what the IMC effectively is.
As a nation, we are content with taking things the old-fashioned way — on a day-to-day basis. Planning is as minimal as it gets and the term ‘temporary arrangement’ is always our ‘rational’ response. The road map, if any, is as blurry as the future is hazy. There is no sense of direction, and if there is, it is unacceptable to a particular segment that is, ironically, not even a stakeholder. The IMC, a fancier way of saying ad hoc, will run cricket, the team will continue performing and/or letting fans down on the field, who will keep suffering through the action and drama — on and off the field. It seems that for the fans there is absolutely no hope for the team lifting the 2015 World Cup. So, as I said earlier, if ever there was a need to find a silver lining, it is now.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 17th, 2013.
On the administrative front, things are no different. From Najam Sethi’s appointment as acting PCB chairman and then caretaker chief to his recent post of head of an ‘Interim Management Committee’ (IMC), it has become clear that nothing seems to be in control. Sethi, for all practical purposes, continues to be the main man administering Pakistan cricket at the moment. Jolted by a court ruling every now and then, he continues to find a way out. His appointment by the prime minister, the defacto PCB patron, was followed by the dissolution of the governing board. The next development was the formation of the IMC, which saw Sethi become head once again, but this move was slapped by another court suspension before it was overturned. It has become clear that the PCB head will continue enjoying the backing of the prime minister, while the Islamabad High Court (IHC) carries on making it tough for him to do his job. According to a recent IHC ruling, certain conditions have to be met by those hoping to contest elections for the post of PCB chairman, the two most prominent being that candidates should be graduates and secondly, should have played Test or first class cricket, conditions which automatically disqualify the current PCB head.
For 65 years, the PCB was unable to frame a constitution. When it finally did make one, things backfired. What Zaka Ashraf, former PCB chairman who was handed suspension papers, did was wrong — ignoring major regional cricket associations during the election process for the post of chairman — but that has not been followed by anything better either with the PCB resorting to the old, traditional way of dealing with issues: the ever-popular adhoc system, which is what the IMC effectively is.
As a nation, we are content with taking things the old-fashioned way — on a day-to-day basis. Planning is as minimal as it gets and the term ‘temporary arrangement’ is always our ‘rational’ response. The road map, if any, is as blurry as the future is hazy. There is no sense of direction, and if there is, it is unacceptable to a particular segment that is, ironically, not even a stakeholder. The IMC, a fancier way of saying ad hoc, will run cricket, the team will continue performing and/or letting fans down on the field, who will keep suffering through the action and drama — on and off the field. It seems that for the fans there is absolutely no hope for the team lifting the 2015 World Cup. So, as I said earlier, if ever there was a need to find a silver lining, it is now.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 17th, 2013.