- Precisely the problem!
Everybody knows that Sarfaraz did not know he was crossing the line, so to speak, when he called Andile Phehlukwayo what he did in Durban, but isn’t that precisely the central problem in this sad affair? The boys representing the country ought to understand by now that they just can’t behave like they did playing street cricket back in the day. And, since they travel the world, one would assume that their grooming, if not their experience, instills a manner of appreciation of international norms in them. You don’t say such things anywhere anymore but South Africa, of all places, makes it in that much poorer taste.
It turns out, sadly, that’s it’s not just with regard to direct cricket grooming that the PCB leaves a little to be desired. Our players need to be educated in other areas as well, as ICC has noted in its punishment. Not only will the national captain be banned from four international matches, which rules him out of the rest of the tour, he must also ‘undergo an educational program to promote the understanding and awareness of (such) issues…” Also, while the Board has noted the ban with “utmost disappointment,” having “anticipated that the matter had been resolved amicably between the two players,” perhaps it could have been more proactive and argued in favour of the penalty being imposed after the ongoing tour, at least.
Things are not made easy for Sarfaraz, ironically, by Shoaib Malik’s successful captaincy and the team’s impressive performance without him. This will no doubt trigger speculation, typical of our press, about his need in the team going forward. He clearly is not the most successful of captains. He gets far too animated. Plus he’s mostly defensive in the field. How easily all this can snowball into far more confusion within the PCB. The Board, under an able chairman for a change, must immediately take note of these pressing concerns and formulate short- as well as long-term strategies, last what is left of our cricketing prestige is also squandered.
