The general manager of Women’s cricket in the PCB has come out in support of former Pakistan paceman, captain and coach Waqar Younis, saying he has the right to express his professional opinion and give suggestion for the betterment of cricket. Speaking to Pakistan Today, the former national captain and current women’s cricket boss, Shamsa Hashmi, said that what Waqar said was his “personal point of view” and that dialogue is necessary for improvement in sport – Waqar was only trying to get the ball rolling.
Waqar had recently come under fire for ‘being sexist’ after he tweeted a suggestion where he said that the women’s ODI world cups should be restricted to 30 overs rather than 50.
@ICC What abt having 30 overs Cricket World Cup 4 Women???Like Tennis 3 sets rather then 5 #Suggestion I feel 50 overs r few 2many #WWCUP17
— waqar younis (@waqyounis99) June 29, 2017
In response the Bhurewala express had been engulfed in a social media storm as people came out to criticise his words. The allegations being leveled against him were that the advice he gave to the ICC was inherently sexist. The incident was quickly picked up by other social media outlets which were quick to jump onto the bandwagon and criticise Waqar Younis for what was an innocent piece of advice from an experienced campaigner in the world of cricket.
If the women’s team has no problems playing 50 overs, I don’t see a problem tbh. As far as the age of women’s cricket is concerned, it’s
— No (@Bluemagicboxes) June 30, 2017
Wait, so are you saying they women should not be given equal treatment? Or asking for equal treatment is… Wrong? ?
— F (@furreekatt) June 29, 2017
no I think when women can bring the men’s cricket team into the world after carrying them for 9 months,they can survive 20 more overs
— Areej Anwar Tiwana (@AreejAnwar) June 30, 2017
What these critics seemed to forget however was that the most basic reality of the gender divisions in sport is that there are inherent differences between the way men play the game and the way women do. They also seem to be forgetting that in women’s cricket itself, the boundaries are shorter and the game balls are lighter than they are in the male version. And while the comments made by Younis were perhaps not ideal, denunciation of his tweets is ignorance of realities – plain and simple.
Shamsa Hashmi agreed with this assessment. Speaking to PT, she said that the advice could have been better framed as women already play 20-over cricket and introducing a new 30-over format would not have the same effect. She also added that women also play test cricket and that there could possibly be reforms in the longest format of the women’s sport. The PCB women’s cricket GM did acknowledge that women’s cricket was a different ball game than the game the men played and that while not these, but some different measures could possibly be taken to enhance women’s cricket and make it more exciting after discussion with the major ICC stakeholders and members.
She was however appreciative of Waqar Younis for trying to initiate a discussion and for taking an interest in the women’s sport, something that has been lacking in well-known proponents of the sport in recent times. She also stressed the importance of respecting and paying heed to the legends of the game.
It is obviously necessary, especially in an environment such as Pakistan’s, to make sure that women’s rights and equality issues are not only picked up and highlighted, but even given a little more importance, coverage and attention than may in all fairness be due. This does not, however justify criticism for advice that was sincerely and innocently met. Moreover it is not becoming or smart to ignore realities rather than taking them into account. It is undoubtedly true that women’s cricket is not of the same league as men’s cricket. It has, after all, been played not nearly as long. But it is not necessary that the women’s game follow the same path as the men’s, and it would be much wiser to let it carve out its own identity. And that can only be done when someone gets the ball rolling on talking about it – which is exactly what Waqar Younis did.