The Latest Death Knell of Pakistani Cricket (3/5)
The men at the eye of Pakistan's every storm who always manage to escape any punishment
Of far graver concern to Pakistani fans (or it should be) is the continued presence of all the people in the backroom staff. It is inconceivable that such a plot could have been hatched without the approval of someone within the dressing room. It has not been even twelve months since Younus Khan questioned the legitimacy of Yawar Saeed’s role within the back room staff. Today, Pakistan’s (seemingly) most loyal player is sitting out because he was deemed not to be selfless. Here is a man who reported the bookie who tried to approach him. Here is a man who tried to remove the people who would within the next twelve months show the world that they would sell their grandmothers for a few more wads of cash, as he believed that they were detrimental to the nation’s team. Here is a man who actually seemed to care for the country. And he was removed, without any great fuss, because apparently, no individual takes precedence over the national team. Perhaps, he was just not willing to whore himself out to every bidder. If that makes him an outcast, I think he wouldn’t mind being one.
Then there is Mazhar Majeed. The video and the report might seem fake to many, but that is only because of the inanity of his actions in it. For someone who considers himself to be the mastermind of an international crime, he does seem to have the discretion of a two-bit street criminal.
But the malaise goes much deeper. Every time you try to blame someone within that historic dressing room at Lord’s, all paths lead to the men at the top and the former players. It was those former players that have contributed in bringing in this culture of immorality that exists within the team (An off-topic point: Isn’t it odd that a half a decade of ‘purity’ seperates the 90s team from the current one, yet the attitude to the fans and money is the still the same. Surely, a truly Muslim culture would have weeded out these thoughts. And isnt’ it somewhat ironic that Mr. Majeed was introduced to the players by Saqlain Mushtaq. Pakistanis get uptight if someone wears a short skirt or takes a sip of alcohol, but lying and cheating seem to be accepted as virtues. Since when were Pakistanis hypocritical?*) It was the board that allowed almost a dozen of Pakistan’s players to be represented by Mazhar Majeed. It was the board which allowed the players to have a free hand in such dealings, it was the board that has kept the staff that had been previously fingered (not in that way) by the morally conscious amongst the players, it was the board that has failed to punish offenders in the past and it is the board that has proven itself to be completely inept in the aftermath by the lack of denials or of punishments to its players.
This is the organization that has tried to break almost every record of ineptness: the failure to convince teams of hosting the world cup, the subsequent celebrations at getting a handful of dollars when ICC paid them as compensation for its removal, the banning and un-banning of the players following the Australia tour, the continuous lack of backing to its captains, the constant changing of the captains just when they give the impression of showing their true worth (Younus Khan), going against the wishes of the captain and the selectors (Younus Khan and Salman Butt) and the failure to get any decent sponsors for the team (for the various series, particularly the ones in Dubai there has been little to no interest. Also, nobody wants to - or will - buy shite from a company called BOOM BOOM) are amongst the highlights of the remarkable tenure of the Ijaz Butt regime thus far. One could write a few more thousand words on how and why they are as inept as they are (and still have loads more ink to write about his predecessors), and the evidence they have given for that but it can be explained rather simply: everyone wants the credit (even for the most insignificant actions) but no one wants the responsibility. Every member wants to treat the PCB as an ever-producing retirement fund; get shedloads of money, but do nothing whatsoever to earn it. And when this culture transfers from the hierarchy to the board, even then it is the players who are the ones in line for the guillotine.
Alas, such is Pakistan cricket. It has lurched from one crisis to another for the past fifteen years, pausing for a while when the team performs so well that everyone seems to forget the deficiencies in the team, the board and the domestic circuit. From the Packer era via the country v county debate and the matchfixing scandals in the 90s to the current shambles, Pakistani players have always put money ahead of representing the national side. Hence it seems surprising that people still continue to be amazed when another scandal surfaces.
So what does the future hold for Pakistan cricket? Optimism is not a luxury the fans can afford right now. The trio will be banned – the two apart from Aamer, for perhaps longer than anyone before them. But there will be no internal investigation beyong what is the general Pakistani ‘inquiry’ (make a lot of noise about having an investigation or inquiry within the organization until everyone forgets about it, then go back to whatever you were doing beforehand). The banned players will eventually make comebacks, but being the bright young things they are, will not change their actions. More young men will be destroyed, as players and as human beings within the culture of the most popular ambassadors (apart from Aisam) of the ‘land of the pure’. The faces and the names will change, but the actions won’t; and pretty soon Pakistanis will ask that most redundant and (considering the events) most tiresome of questions: “yaar hamari team hamesha harti kiun hai? Agar ______ ko captain bana dein to phir hum dobara se world champions ban saktay hain na?”. That is just foolish. Wanting a messiah to solve the short term crises so that we don't have to plan for the long term is as in-built in Pakistanis as ogling strange objects (referred to in the rest of the world as 'women'). But I believe that Paksitan’s salvation can only come from the hands of Younus Khan and his Karachi entourage, because after all the blog too is a Pakistani, and it has as much right to foolish blind optimism as anyone else.
*For those of you with the lights switched off in their heads, that was supposed to be sarcasm.
** Do you have anything to say, contribute, ask or write in capital letters about? Comments available below…
