“Pakistan’s swift resurgence after plumbing the depths in 2010 is quite remarkable. From that low to emerge triumphant against the World No 1 team in such a short time and with such aplomb is never easy. There must have been so many factors that have contributed to this turnaround but the one that stands out is leadership – both of the captain, the selectors, the management and the Board. My heartiest congratulations to them all over this victory”, said Taher Memon, former marketing consultant of the PCB in the late 1990s when Majid Khan was the CEO.
Mr Memon’s association with cricket was not that brief though. In the late 1970s, 1978 to be precise, when Wills became the first long-term corporate sponsor of Pakistan cricket, Memon was Pakistan Tobacco Company’s point man on cricket promotion. His impact was awesome, not in just making Wills as a brand synonymous with Pakistan cricket, but also introducing the corporate culture to the Board, its acronym then being the BCCP.
His and reputation for hard work and efficiency was such that when owing to a clueless secretary of the Board, the same Ijaz Butt that we have only suffered for full three years as chairman, Pakistan was way behind schedule in marketing and organization of the 1987 World Cup, he was brought in as the executive director of the organizing committee on our side. Both in terms of marketing, organization, and logistical support etc. our part of the World Cup was hailed as superior to India’s by neutral commentators as well as hard-to-please characters, such as Viv Richards.
He also authored the sub-continent’s successful joint bid for the 1996 World Cup – and also assisted in its organization.
On Pakistan’s win, Taher Memon says: “This is most fabulous and everyone associated with this needs to be acknowledged and congratulated. Such performances are not a common thing in the best of times. And when they come after such strife, this needs to be appreciated all the more. Skipper Misbah ul Haq, his entire team and the PCB hierarchy deserve plaudits. May this successful run continues.”
India prays for Yuvraj
NEW DELHI
AFP
India’s World Cup star Yuvraj Singh will recover from a cancerous tumour, his doctor said on Monday, as politicians, sports officials and his team mates rallied around the ailing all-rounder. Yuvraj is undergoing chemotherapy treatment in the United States for a rare condition, mediastinal seminoma, a malignant tumour located between his lungs. Nitesh Rohatgi, a senior Delhi-based oncologist who has been treating the 30-year-old cricketer, said he was confident Yuvraj will recover from the disease.
