Cricketers are never far from the headlines in Pakistan and the current year saw a number of performances and achievements that were contenders for year ending lists. Wahab Riaz’s exhilarating spell in an otherwise disappointing World Cup will be remembered for years to come. Younis Khan surpassed Javed Miandad as the highest run scorer for Pakistan in Test matches and became the first Pakistani to score more than 9,000 runs in the format. The divisive M Amir continued his comeback, albeit amid controversy, as he sought, and achieved, a return to the Pakistan national team. But in hindsight it was the Pakistan Cricket Board that was continuously in the news throughout the year — for the right and the not-so-right reasons — and the managing body makes our list of newsmakers of 2015.
In May 2015, Zimbabwe became the first Full Member nation to tour Pakistan since the 2009 terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore. The security situation in the country remains volatile and it was an achievement by the officials of the PCB to successfully negotiate the tour with their Zimbabwean counterparts. The resulting series saw packed stadiums of welcoming and enthusiastic supporters and an opportunity for the local players to showcase their talents in home conditions. The tour finished without any untoward incident and it was a small but important step for the return of international cricket to Pakistan.
In September 2015, the Pakistan Cricket Board finally announced the launch of the Pakistan Super League. The tournament, which was initially proposed a number of years ago, has seen a number of delays due to poor planning. At one stage it was going to be held in Qatar which raised a number of valid objections. Thankfully someone talked sense to the PCB and the inaugural season of the PSL will take place in the United Arab Emirates. The initial commercial rights were sold for 93 million dollars highlighting the much needed revenue PSL will bring. However, transparency in these monetary dealings remains a big question mark over the PCB.
Not all went according to the plan for PCB this year. The bilateral series between India and Pakistan scheduled for December 2015 never materialised despite the frenetic efforts of the Chairman Shehryar Khan. The lowest point in the negotiations was the cancellation of a meeting between the Pakistan and Indian cricket board officials in Mumbai after Shiv Sena workers stormed the office of the BCCI. The PCB continued its increasingly desperate attempts even when it was evident to everyone else that a positive response from the Indian government was not forthcoming. The role of the chairman of the PCB in the endless back and forth was deemed embarrassing by many former players as well as government officials.
PCB currently faces a big challenge in its attempt to re-integrate M Amir into the national squad. A number of cricketers including Azhar Ali, the captain of the ODI team, have voiced their reservations. Although the rehabilitation programme outlined for M Amir was fairly comprehensive, only time will tell whether those who transgress in the future will receive the same backing from the Pakistan Cricket Board.
