Pakistani cricket team’s dismal performance in the recent tournaments has put the entire game under spotlight. The national team’s performance in the World T20 cup was far worse than one could have expected despite the scale of recent controversies. Not a single player was able to deliver professionally, leaving a big question behind, whether the selection of the players was done on merit or not?
The mounting public pressure after the World T20 cup has forced many into resignation. Waqar Younis, the former head coach resigned after presenting a scathing report in which he lamented about his limited role in the team selection. On the other hand, however, the former chief selector, Haroon Rasheed, rebuffed Waqar Younis’s claims by calling them “false statements.” “Younis’s claims that the team was selected without his consultation are not true,” Rasheed said.
Furthermore, the national selection committee has been disbanded and a new T20 caption has been appointed. While many have been made scapegoats in this collective disaster, the chairman of PCB, Shaharyar Khan, has refused to step down: “There is no truth in the rumours that I am considering stepping down.” Former fast bowler Aaqib Javed has ruled himself out of the race for the country’s head coach. Reportedly, PCB is likely to appoint former Australian retired cricketer Dean Mervyn Jones as new head coach of the team.
The dilemma, however, is that any such changes will not do much to improve Pakistani cricket team’s performance in the field. The problem lies elsewhere. There are two main areas where imminent overhauls are needed to bring any positive change in the game.
First is tied with the revamping of the country’s domestic or regional level cricket structure. The regional cricket in Pakistan is marred with politics, lack of attention and funds. And due to such issues, the much talked about “young talent” in Pakistan is drying very quickly. “Changing of coaches won’t do any good for the improvement of the game. There is a dire need to improve the whole structure of the game from the grass-root level,” Imran Khan said. He further said that “If the internal cricket structure is not worked on, we’ll keep seeing captains, coaches and selectors being sacked and Pakistan cricket will only suffer.”
By and large, there are no efforts to improve the cricket at the grass root levels. While the amount of money spent at the national level runs into billions, at the local level, there is hardly any money to support the game or players. One can see its reflection in the domestic tournaments which are barely sponsored, appreciated or marketed the way cricket is highlighted at the national level.
One of the main reasons that cricket at the regional level has done so bad is because of the lack of professionalism at the organizational level which has been marred with politics and nepotism. The players at local level are often left directionless and with no financial support or encouragement, a large number of these are forced to choose other paths.
The “elite cricket” academies which are being run by various former test cricketers have further compounded the problem. The attendees of these academies are considerably financially stable and well connected to find their way into the national team which leaves the players from remote areas on relative disadvantage, both financially and otherwise.
Second, cricket should be cleared from politics of all sorts which have invariably compromised the game. “PCB’s affairs are being run by non-cricketers, majority of whom are merely focussing on perks and privileges rather than national team’s performance,” said Inter Provincial Coordination (IPC) Sports Minister Riaz Pirzada. The chairman of PCB is considered a close friend of the Prime Minister while Najam Sethi, who is also close to the ruling party, has remained at the forefront in running the board’s affairs.
Many have reported that Pakistan’s former head coach resigned only because he found it hard to work with Najam Sethi and Shahryar Khan. Both of them have hampered Pakistan’s cricket to a great extent. “Najam Sethi and Shahryar Khan did not even bother to meet me. They have let me down. When I asked how the report got leaked, I faced humiliation only”, said Waqar.
Other regional countries meanwhile have improved their cricket because they have focused on these areas. The Afghan cricket team’s performance in World T20 cup was more than impressive. “India is progressing fast at the international level because they’ve worked on their domestic cricket and if things don’t improve in Pakistan, there will be a big gap between the two countries’ cricket,” said Imran Khan.
Controversies related to the politics inside the PCB and the team itself has done a great harm to game. Given the scale of problems, it is unlikely that Pakistan’s past glory of being champions will return soon. And unless a serious overhaul is made in these areas, the fate of Pakistani cricket will remain the same.
