Throwing a cricket tantrum

Need of hour is to make cricket truly stand on its own feet as unnecessary govt interference jeopardised the sport.

The inevitable has happened: the International Cricket Council (ICC), with the support of almost all Test playing nations, is set to start a new journey where the boards with the financial strength are to exercise their clout to the fullest. Once again, we have Pakistani administrators crying over spilt milk claiming that they have been ‘cheated’. In less than two years, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Zaka Ashraf (sacked from his position on February 10) has been ‘cheated’ twice by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and now by Cricket South Africa (CSA). Every time, the rants of a defiant, principles-based stance of the PCB has been eventually ridiculed by other boards. The Bangladeshis pulled out of a tour to Pakistan in 2012 after making a commitment to Ashraf, who gave up the ICC presidency in favour of his Bangladeshi counterpart, on the ‘assurance’ of a short tour to resume international cricket in the country.

Bangladesh also withdrew its initial defiant stance on the Big Three issue, while CSA, to quote Ashraf, “cheated” on Pakistan and Sri Lanka a day before the decisive ICC meeting in Singapore.

While one cannot condone the behaviour of CSA and the BCB, the fact is that sentiments and emotions have to take a backseat, especially when pivotal, game-changing decisions are at stake. Both the BCB and CSA seemingly adopted a pragmatic approach to ensure that their concerns are addressed and interests safeguarded.

The PCB, on the other hand, was worried about the guarantees of a bilateral series with India throughout the week after the Dubai meeting. Ashraf maintained that Pakistan’s interest would be paramount; yet, one felt that the former chairman was busy drumming up political support rather than chalking out a plan through which a better financial deal could have materialised.

Ashraf also seemed handicapped by the lack of interest of the PCB’s patron-in-chief, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, and his repeated pleas of meeting him failed to invoke interest. One also wonders at the role played by other officials. The Chief Operating Officer Subhan Ahmed and Director International Cricket Zakir Khan, who have been part of the board for donkey’s years needed to strategise and reach an agreement with the influential powers at the ICC.

So what is the way forward now? Pakistan and Sri Lanka, for now, seem cornered but there must be a way to salvage something from a situation that has gone from bad to worse. For starters, the PCB needs to take stock of the situation and before the next ICC meeting, needs to draft a position paper of its own. There needs to be an immediate reassessment of the commercial value of Pakistan cricket, the revenue generated by the PCB and the reliance on ICC grants. The board must make domestic cricket productive and the presently suspended project of the Pakistan Super League needs to restart.

Moreover, the PCB needs to be strengthened as an institution. The need of the hour is to make cricket truly stand on its own feet as unnecessary government intervention, or sometimes, the lack of intervention has jeopardised the sport for a long time. The shenanigans of various cricket regimes have sullied Pakistan’s reputation greatly. This great game of ours is the only unifying force for the nation. We must all collectively stop its fall into the abyss.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 11^th,  2014.

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