If the PCB were to induct a professional from a secret agency as an official in the team for foreign tours, there is a possibility that the delinquent players are deterred from indulging in illegal betting. However, it cannot be ruled out that this gentleman from the secret agency, who is supposed to be the teams watchdog, might himself succumb to the irresistible allurements of the betting mafia under some shady deal.
In such an eventuality the whole plan that was potentially promising would end up in a miserable fiasco.
Not surprising though because in a country ravaged by corruption these loathsome betrayals are a norm in all walks of life and at all levels. And, such indeed is the charm of this pernicious evil that, today even to contain it, looks a distant mirage.
FAROOQ ZAMAN
Lahore
