Pakistan Cricket has been entangled in controversies for more than
two years now and it is high time that the cricket authorities in the
country take special efforts to put their house in order, sadly until
now the attitude by the Pakistan Cricket Board
(PCB) has been unsatisfactory.
If the cricket board in Pakistan thinks that all bad that is
happening in the country’s cricket will somehow go away on its own then
they are mistaken as serious efforts need to be taken to rid the
country’s cricket from the plaguing controversies.
Apart from facing international humiliation due to the involvement of three main players (Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif)
in spot-fixing in 2010, that saw them banned from the sport for a
minimum of five years, things at home aren’t so perfect
either as the PCB has been criticised by many regarding the selection
of the players, coaches or even captains of the national team.
The most recent problem originated when one-day skipper Shahid Afridi
was sacked from the job after he had criticised the team management for
meddling in the team selection of the playing eleven during Pakistan’s tour of the West Indies this year.
The statements by Afridi left many in the PCB bitter, consequently
resulting in his ouster as the captain of the national team. This
certainly did not go down well with many in the country as there was a
general perception that Afridi was the right man for
the job as he had handsomely led the national squad in the
International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup 2011, where a written-off Pakistan team left the world awestruck by reaching the semi-final of the mega event.
However, Pakistan’s World Cup dream was ended by arch rivals India,
who defeated the Men in Green in the knockout game. Nonetheless, Afridi
had returned home as a triumphant captain who was welcomed by the
countrymen with open arms as the people in cricket
crazy Pakistan felt that Afridi had led the team to a performance which
was beyond anyone’s expectations.
The PCB certainly stirred up a hornet’s nest by removing Afridi as a
new controversy engulfed the country. Afridi has now retired from
international cricket and is busy playing county cricket in England,
however, the 31-year-old hard-hitting all-rounder
has expressed his desire to play for the home side once Ijaz Butt
the chairman of the PCB is removed because according to him Butt is
incapable of running things in the board and is instrumental in harming
the game in the country.
If this behaviour by the cricket authorities persists, young players
will stop playing the game which will starve the country from retaining a
formidable backup which is imperative for the survival of the game in
the country.
The PCB needs to consider the example of the West Indies Cricket
Board (WICB), a country which gained prominence in the world by
producing exuberant cricketers like Clive Lloyd, Michael Holding, Courtney Walsh and Brian Lara is now facing a great problem
in finding talented youngsters interested in playing cricket.
Pakistan should work to avoid a similar fate like that of the West Indies and should take lead from Australia, South Africa and England the countries who have kept a solid backup by encouraging youngsters and giving senior players well deserved retirements
instead of pushing them out of the national squad when they still were performing for the country.
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