Never appointing the right man for the right post
The more the Najam Sethi-Zaka Ashraf controversy unfolds, the more it reflects the systemic breakdown plaguing the official machinery, of which the PCB drama is but one small part. At the heart of the problem is the custom of making important appointments not on merit but affiliations. And since the PCB chairmanship is always special – jokes that it brings prestige and perks second only to the prime minister’s seat are not entirely without merit – its appointments tend to be controversial, especially of late.
But this latest episode has been more ridiculous than normal. The tussle, and resulting uncertainty, not to mention repeated hiring and firing of key officials, has filtered down to the team. And the public is furious. Cricket was the only sport where Pakistan still commanded some degree of respect in the world. The way it arouses collective national passion, and unites Pakistanis at home and abroad, needs little explanation. It is undoubtedly a significant feature of our international relevance.
And all the while the prime minister has tried one way and then another of forcing his preferred client to head the PCB, the team’s performance has deteriorated, its morale has dropped, and there is public fear that cricket too might follow in the footsteps of Squash and Hockey. In both sports Pakistan established itself at the top of the world, and in both now it has no standing of significance. And in both cases stakeholders blame government inaction and incompetence for the fall from grace.
Lucknow example
The problem runs far deeper than controversial appointments and exposes the whole management system as ineffective. Sports need to be nurtured at the student level, at education institutes. Despite repeated requests from sporting bodies, the government has not increased admission quotas for sports from two per cent. This number needs to be raised to 10-15 per cent, and various governments have been repeatedly made aware of it, yet nothing has been done.
College and university level competitions too must get more government patronage. Analysts cite an interesting and relevant example from the old days, when Pakistan won the historic ’52 Test in Lucknow. The national team featured nine players from Government College Lahore and Islamia College Lahore. An Indian newspaper the next day described how Pakistan’s team of college boys flattened India’s national team.
Building institutions and nurturing talent from an early level is more important now than ever because sports have become increasingly competitive and institutionalised all over the world. Just as much as national prestige, they are an indication of national achievement.
The problem runs far deeper than controversial appointments and exposes the whole management system as ineffective.
“If you look closely, you will notice how sports reflect the level of achievement of societies as a whole”, a sports analyst said. “In the old days, top level Olympic competition was between USSR and USA, the two most advanced nations in the world. Now increasingly China challenges America for superiority as its position in the world improves. When Putin became president of Russia, he met with the OIC president for advice on a sports revolution in his country”.
But building and nurturing such talent requires active government involvement. One reason hockey declined was that the system that offered talented players from the rural periphery jobs and survival disappeared over time. There are no examples any more like Shahbaz Sr, our last hockey superstar, who was the world’s best player for 10 years and now serves as PIA station chief in Jeddah. Now, with the official structure no longer supporting sports stars, players are reluctant to turn professional.
What the PM does
That is why the embarrassment at the PCB is all the more disturbing. The PM’s involvement has become problematic not just because of his timing, but also because of his insistence that Najam Sethi head the PCB. Critics have obviously questioned Sethi’s credentials, especially since he is not without a history of being awarded prized positions, and his ‘services’ as CM Punjab have drawn strong allegations of corruption, particularly from Imran Khan’s PTI.
And its not just that Sethi’s cricket credentials are in question, it is also not clear why the prime minister cannot find someone more appropriate for the cricket board. Why have people like Ehsan Mani, Dr Zafar Altaf, and Khalid Mehmood not been considered? Mani worked at the ICC for more than 30 years, and for all purposes was the first and last Pakistani to head the organisation. Dr Altaf and Mehmood have served as PCB chairmen previously.
And even though the Sethi-Ashraf standoff has become embarrassing for Pakistan internationally, the PM is sticking with his man, not opting for a third, less controversial name to settle the matter once and for all.
“The prime minister must decide, and the sooner the better”, said Gen (R) Tauqir Zia, former PCB chairman. “Even if the government is determined to bring one particular person to the post, there are better and less embarrassing ways of doing just that”.
But the way this musical chairs is being played out, the whole board is becoming paralysed.
“How can the board function normally when the chairman is insecure about his position?” asked Gen Zia. “The chairman is busy with courts, people under him are not sure about their jobs, it is natural for the dysfunction to spread to the team”.
Ridiculous at all levels
When chairmen, general managers, selectors and coaches become uncertain about their positions, so do team players.
“The sport is suffering at all levels”, said Khalid Mehmood, former PCB chairman.
“Right now the whole team is divided. Players are unsure about officials, who to take refuge with, who to make links with. It is causing embarrassment and is just ridiculous at all levels”.
Former chairmen like Mehmood critique the government for not only backing the wrong people in the wrong way, but also not doing anything positive for the sport. And this regressive trend has been visible for more than a decade. Officials, not always appointed on merit, have always worried about their tenures, and often turned to changing and abrogating the constitutions to favour themselves.
Even though the Sethi-Ashraf standoff has become embarrassing for Pakistan internationally, the PM is sticking with his man, not opting for a third, less controversial name to settle the matter once and for all.
The question now is about who has the ultimate authority. If Zaka had made the mistake of approving the constitution by ignoring the biggest stakeholders, the prudent way to proceed was to call a fair election.
“But the insistence of forcing his own person, whatever the cost, is neither democratic nor controversial”, added Mehmood, and it will not make the job of any future chairman any easier.
Sports matter
The recurring comparison with hockey is not without reason. Numerous stakeholders cried for help as the system was collapsing from within, but no reforms were undertaken and no serious effort was made. In squash, too, there was no structure to prop up emerging players, and when a couple of families’ personal domination ran out, so did Pakistan’s grip on the world number-1 position.
Aisam ul Haq’s impressive rise in tennis proved a similar one-time, one-man effort, with no official patronage or arrangement to provide serious, competitive training. And things have regressed to the point that sports are no longer taken seriously at any level.
“There is no political party in Pakistan now that has sports as part of its manifesto”, said Air Marshal Syed Razi Nawab, senior vice president of the Pakistan Squash Federation. “Also, parents are not interested in encouraging their students to turn seriously to sports. Education institutes no longer offer sports scholarships like they did, at least in my time. There is neglect across the board, and sports and sportsmen suffer as result”.
The first thing we need to do, according to the air marshal, is put our house in order. Pakistan has already suffered from years of sports isolation following the attack on the Sri Lankan team in March 2009. And the first thing to do is to appoint the right people at the right posts. So long as genuine stakeholders do not take the reins of the system, the right decision will just not be taken. The state, too, must take a much more proactive role in encouraging budding sportsmen.
“The government must realise that sports matter”, said Gen Zia. “In my time I tried to help hockey, golf, and bridge bodies, but instead of such efforts being appreciated, I was questioned by the Public Accounts Committee”.
Such regressive behaviour needs to change. And that change will begin by reforming institutions, for which appointing the right heads is crucial. Otherwise, the government will be guilty of deliberately playing a losing hand at sports.
