The PCB bosses sought the bird that lays the golden eggs, a species found only in fairy tales, in inhospitable Mumbai
Pakistan has won the recently played Test series against England in a convincing manner, moving up to number two in the world pecking order in the process. Realistically seen, this lofty status might be short-lived, as it depends on the outcome of the ongoing Tests matches involving Australia and New Zealand and South Africa and India. At the time of writing, the greenshirts have also routed the Brits in the first of four scheduled One Day Internationals(ODIs), already an improvement over their last such encounter in 2012 in which they had been crushed by a 0-4 margin. The benign conditions in the ‘home away from home’ series in the UAE always favour the local (sub-continental) sides and this time, during the Tests at least, there was more of playing cricket and less of team politics within the Pakistan side. The fielding was absolutely brilliant at times, an indication that the players were totally focused, and eager and willing to contribute a hundred percent to the combined team effort. Then the inevitable happened, it all went haywire, with the firm controlling hand of the PCB chairman or its executive committee noticeably absent in forestalling the brewing crises. First, there was Younus Khan’s inconveniently timed retirement from the ODIs, reflecting the long simmering clash of egos within the tour management itself, and then came the extra-curricular distractions, with Saeed Ajmal’s criticism of the International Cricket Council over its selective ‘chucking’ policy, leading to the suspension of his PCB contract, his foolish vow to burn his cricket equipment and the latest ‘breaking news’ probably ‘back breaking’ this time, about Umar Akmal, the dancing dervish. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) management which must have heaved a huge sigh of relief after the narrow escape in the First Test, and was resting on its laurels for a while, was swiftly back in its usual situation: a state of siege. Indiscipline, the curse of most PCB managements, was rearing its ugly head again.
So even (or especially) when things are going well, disaster may still lurk just round the corner for our cricket health. That is our bitter and nervous experience. And complacency in victory is the least of our problems. The underlying dilemma of Pakistan cricket, the appointment to top positions of the undeserving, of square pegs in round holes, on a purely personal impulse rather than by a structured democratic process, remains very much present, with all its attendant evils, errors and controversies.
So even (or especially) when things are going well, disaster may still lurk just round the corner for our cricket health. That is our bitter and nervous experience
At the outset it is emphatically stated that the purpose of this piece is not to cast any aspersion on the character or the good intent of individuals. Far from it. We are concerned not with persons, but with principles, though the latter have seemingly lost all meaning in our society, as it is presently constituted. And after all, the related gentlemen, all honourable men, are simply doing the jobs to which they have been rightly or wrongly appointed (or to use the word loosely, ‘elected’), to the best of their abilities. No, the object is to spotlight a system, a conditioned reflex or mode of behaviour, a mindset, a value system, an ego trip, call it what you may, that afflicts our culture in all spheres, be it the political or the lesser arena of sports. And most symptomatic of this is the odd selection, under the ‘winner takes all the spoils’ political belief, of persons who are least (or last) suited, in competence, in relevant knowledge, or in work ethic to do justice to their various assignments. Merit, worthiness, and plain common sense appear to be the first casualties in these exercises.
One wonders what goes on in Number One’s (the appointing authority) brain, while he is making such decisions in any sphere. What are the special insights, peculiar considerations or ice cold reflections (if any) that decide the issue? Is it simply a matter of personal likes and dislikes? Or the whims and fancies of a passing moment? Is the lucky winners’ name drawn at random from a box, as in the case of a lottery? This question must remain a mystery because attempting to analyse the innermost recesses and working of Number One’s mind might well turn up a complete blank.
Recently, the unfortunate incursion and hurried forced exit from India by the PCB bigwigs became the cause of much embarrassment around the country. The naïve bosses sought the bird that lays the golden eggs, a species found only in fairy tales, in unwelcoming Mumbai and New Delhi and got egg on their faces instead. It was a repeat of the meeting in Ufa, Russia, in which the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi haughtily remained rooted to the ground in a corner of the hall, instead of meeting Mian Nawaz Sharif halfway, as decency and diplomacy demanded. The lonely figure of our smiling prime minister, hand extended in greeting, walking across the whole length of the room under the coldly staring eyes of the Indians, to where the seemingly immobile Modi stood glued, was a disdainful gesture of arrogance. It looked as if a vassal was coming to pay tribute to his lord and master and it hurt every Pakistani who saw it.
It is easy to be wise after the event. But it must be admitted that the cross-border foray of the PCB duo came as a total surprise to most cricket watchers here. It appeared to be a hush-hush affair until the last moment. Perhaps the pair wanted to pull off a glorious coup with a welcome revival of one of world cricket’s supreme rivalries, an Indo-Pak cricket series next month, as thousands cheered. The prize of US dollars three hundred million also beckoned strongly, it was too tempting a treasure and a trophy to resist. But the timing was all wrong, even to a layman. A wave of hatred against Muslims was sweeping some parts of the neighbouring country and had already led to the lynching of an innocent soul over a false rumour. The beef eating controversy was at its most intense and ‘save the cow’ vigilante groups swarmed all over northern India, quite willing to kill at the slightest suspicion of the animal’s slaughter or trafficking. On the Line of Control and the Working Boundary there was aggressive Indian posturing and a ready resort to firing with heavy weapons, causing casualties among the villagers living close to the border. Causing ‘pain’ to Pakistan, the Indian leaders termed it. Pakistanis visiting India, whether of the cricketing, musical or theatrical variation, were particularly abhorrent. And in these conditions to venture to Mumbai, the stamping ground of the fascist Hindu RSS seemed nothing less (or worse) than a study in stupidity, to be blunt. Even the most naïve should have backed off from the BCCI invitation without a moment’s hesitation in favour of some safer rendezvous at a later date when the stars were more auspicious.
As everybody knows, there are three primary characters in the present saga of Pakistan cricket. They are, in order of importance, the prime minister who is the chief patron of the PCB, Najam Sethi, head of its all-powerful (whatever the apologists may say) Executive Committee, and lastly, the chairman, seasoned (also in years) ex-diplomat, Shahryar Khan.
The charade runs like this. The PM okays his man, other aspirants hastily back down (if the matter is not already in the courts) and the lucky nominee is then elected unanimously by a governing body that is neither governing nor a properly or strictly constituted body. As the appointing authority, the chief patron of the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) must therefore shoulder the lion’s (no political statement intended) share of the blame for the continuing decline in cricket as indeed in our national game hockey, in which latter we hit historic lows this year due to withholding of funds by the government. Past and present leaders are extremely fond of making inexplicable nominations to sporting bodies, but are also unable to follow them up properly because of their pressing official engagements. And when the cat is away, the mice play. The lottery winners are not bound by mere rules and regulations because of their influential backers and their wrongdoing is seldom questioned.
Najam Sethi needs no introduction. We know too much about him. He is a veteran journalist and possibly cricket-crazy like most Pakistanis who are bound with invisible shackles to the great game. But he is totally innocent of any acquaintance with the highly professional, politicised and commercial game that modern cricket has become. That is his primary disadvantage. There is an exception, though, that one famous, glorious courting ‘match’ played in an orchard in Okara, or was it Sahiwal, made popular by the late Masood Hasan. Perhaps he was appointed to the PCB post for reasons which had nothing to do with the game itself, for his Aman ki Asha leanings, useful media connections and friendships across the border, and possibly as a covert adviser on political scenarios in case of need. But he is also highly controversial in some circles because of his care-taker role in the 2013 national elections and the myth of the ‘35 punctures’ as well as the prolonged burlesque with Zaka Ashraf over the PCB chairmanship. The ‘revolving door’, in today, out tomorrow, musical chairs with Zaka must have caused much mirth in cricket Boards across the world, at our expense. The shrewd Sethi eventually triumphed over the Zardari-backed business Seth in the power hunger-games.
Resignations, of course, are out of the question. They are simply not a part of our national mindset or heritage. Only fools resign, however grave the lapse
The ‘atrocious crime’ of being an octogenarian one might overlook in the third of the trio, Shahryar Khan, the PCB chairman. One can also condone the Indian yatra, no doubt made in good faith, but also with terrible timing, considering he had been Pakistan’s leading diplomat and a former foreign secretary. An appalling lapse of judgment indeed. But what one fails to understand above all else, is how and why a person was reappointed in whose previous tenure (2003-2006) Pakistan cricket was disgraced for alleged ball-tampering by the first forfeiture of a Test match by any country in the entire 129 years of Test cricket and in the 1,814 Tests played until that horrid Oval Test in August 2006. The acting England captain Andrew Strauss termed that day a ‘slowly unfolding train wreck’ and it was Pakistan cricket that slid off the rails. Chaos and confusion reigned in the greenshirt dressing room and no one seemed to know the rules which applied in this situation, least of all Zaheer Abbas, the team manager and now ICC president. A lasting television image is that of then (as indeed now) PCB chairman Shahryar Khan being advised, no doubt in cricketing tactics and strategy, by the PCB chairman-in-waiting, Nasim Ashraf, later President General Pervez Musharraf’s appointment as the chairman. Perhaps the Bhopali link and the prospects of back-channel diplomacy also figured in his reappointment decision. But it is surprising that a younger, more energetic person with a professional cricketing background could not be found from amongst the treasure-trove of former greats, and for that matter in a nation of 180 million (and counting, or ticking!).
Resignations, of course, are out of the question. They are simply not a part of our national mindset or heritage. Only fools resign, however grave the lapse, because then they again fade away into the nothingness from which they emerged. The thought of losing mouth-watering packages and privileges for some, and the fear of sinking back into anonymity for others, absolutely forbid such a catastrophic course of action.
But the bitter pill will have to be swallowed, the cup of hemlock drunk, before things can begin to improve. One absolutely mandatory change is the ending of the prime minister’s (or the president, if he is in charge) role as the patron-in-chief of cricket and hockey and closure of his powers of nominating or appointing pets, political loyalists or rank outsiders in their management bodies. The politicians should stick strictly to the task of nation-building for which they have been elected by the eternally optimistic voters. The entire process of those who head the national sports bodies must be devolved and left to the respective boards and federations, who would then go about electing the incumbent in a fair and transparent manner, hopefully without any allegations of foul play or rigging. Second, those who know absolutely nothing about cricket but only relish the trappings of power, who are controversial in any way, cannot maintain discipline among the players, have other diversions, occupations, interests and agendas, or who commit worrying gaffes such as the recent unfortunate Mumbai outing, should have the courage to resign and make way for others more committed, serious and effective, instead of flippantly defending the indefensible on television channels. As has wisely been remarked ‘the graveyards are full of indispensable people’. But just try telling that to the living ‘indispensable’ people!
