The Latest Death Knell of Pakistani Cricket (5/5)
Why the News of the World did what it did? And thoughts on the popular viewpoints in Pakistan
“It is all a conspiracy. The ‘westerners’ don’t want us to progress. They still have this colonial mentality, but we are no longer their slaves, I tells ya” so said… erm… basically anyone in Pakistan regarding anything really. But in the current scheme of things it has been most famously said by Ijaz Butt, as well as by Mohammad Asif’s father and the thousands of the knee-jerk reactionary, schizophrenic conspiracy theorist that can be found in any Pakistani drawing room or dhaaba. And if you are reading this then there is a seven in ten chance that you belong to that group (that is a stat that was just made up). They say that this has all been done to ‘defraud’ Pakistan, damage its reputation, demoralize the team and destroy its standing in the world game. After all, those are elements that were SO well-off until the present episode. It requires a certain level of paranoia and disbelief in logic to continue to talk about conspiracy theories without any credible evidence, while those that have the charges against them are schtum. Luckily, those attributes are nurtured in Pakistan like nothing else.
The leading question being asked by Pakistani fans is ‘Why?’ Sadly, it is not being asked of the players and the board, but rather the newspaper that investigated and broke the story. That newspaper is the News of the World. It has been called a pawn in 'the Great Game', where Pakistan is bound to be the loser. They say it has lied (even when their case is stronger than the theorists' defense), that what it did was entrapment, and that its evidence is faulty at best. For those with little knowledge of the British media, here’s a lesson for you:
You say it is against the Pakistan and its cricket team? You say that this a conspiracy hatched by the people in the highest echelons? This was the newspaper who entrapped the England national football team manager only months prior to him leading England to their best chance (considering the team and the opponents) of winning the World Cup in at least two decades. This was the rag that four years later would cause a split within the England dressing room resulting in the captain being forced to be removed only six months prior to South Africa 2010. And it was them who decided to publish details of an affair of England’s best attacking player, just days before England started their qualification for the 2012 Euro. And they did it all for the sake of the public (apparently). Their ‘investigative journalism’ (investigative? Yes. Journalism? Not so much) has had more victims than the England football team. It was the British media who, for the good of the general public, forced the head of England's 2018 FIFA World Cup bid to step down. So to consider this as some sort of an exercise in public good or patriotism for the Albion is disingenuous, to say the least. It was the NOTW who exposed what Max Mosley’s dungeon comprised of. And their tentacles go further than that. And sports is just the tip of the iceberg. And they'll do it, by any means necessary. This, after all is the newspaper, whose royal correspondent was jailed amid allegations of a plot to intercept phone messages. This is a paper that mistakes sensationalism for news. It is part of the media group whose motto is that if you tell a lie enough times everybody will believe it (not really their motto). This is part of the same family as Fox News. Run by a man who has invented the modern sensationalist and biased media. On one hand you have the News of the World, with it being immoral and unethical to the core, from its Page 3, to its 'investigations' and the dozens of libel cases it has faced. On the other are papers like the Guardian. It is a left-leaning, ethical and is often devoid of the subliminal (or overt) racism that is evident in most of the tabloids. Daily circulation for the Guardian stands at around 300,000, placing it at third in the credible newspaper rankings. The Sun-NOTW have a circulation TEN TIMES greater than that. And at the end of the day, to the men in suits, those are the only figures that matter. If it is bullshit that sells, then it is bullshit that they'll sell.
Why did they do it then? Because Pakistanis cheating sells. And its sells BIG. Their target audience aren’t really fans of South Asians, and they lapped this up like it was the best thing to happen since Cameron was elected. So to consider this a conspiracy against Pakistan is, at best, naïve. But this doesn’t mean that the Pakistani media will read this and consider changing their stance (I’m pretty sure most of them know this already). Because after all, conspiracy theories sell in Pakistan. The 'others' are out to get us. Journalism is no longer a tool for information, it is a product that is to be sold. And as I said, the more moolah it makes, the less of a fuck the men at the top give.
As for those who are outraged by the immorality of it all, I would just like to say - yet again - that each nation gets the team it deserves. If you build a society which is selfish, greedy, hypocritical and without shame, then you will get the represenatives who have these attributes. The indignant howls are just that. Most Pakistani outrages are all bark and no bite. And yet we wonder, what we did to deserve this. (A note of caution: this DOES NOT mean that this is an 'Allah ka azaab'.) This is a country, that in every aspect of life, keeps waiting for the messiah rather than trying to do something, anything, which would be constructive in making a better system. We keep relying on producing Edhis and Imran Khans, while it is quite evident that such people are once in a century men.
There is still a chance that all of this will go away: innocent until proven guilty, after all? Many, including this blog, seem to have jumped to conclusions based on their reading of things logically. What they have forgotten is that in Pakistan cricket logic doesn’t just go out of the window, it has never been inside the window in first place. If the trio are cleared of all their charges this blog would certainly look like a fool, but honestly, never before has it wanted to be considered a fool as much as it does right now (and there are a lot of instances to choose from). It is tragic that our lot are hoping, and praying, for normalcy. Just to be an under-the-radar mid-table team in the cricket world without any controversies. This is what we pray for now. This is what we and our representatives have been reduced to. This is yet another death knell on the battered and molested body of Pakistan cricket. In the words of Pakistan’s only true ambassador, “May Allah bless us all”. And thank god that this is over.
What is the role of the ‘uninvolved’ players in all of this? Was it only them three who knew about it? Or were there more? If Yasir Hameed believed in what he said in his 'interview' with the NOTW, then he should have come out before the eggs have hatched. Otherwise, he is as much a party to this as any of the trio accused. And it is quite evident that he wasn't the only one who was aware of this. What responsibility do the other players have? How is remaining shush regarding corruption any worse than spot or match fixing? You are selling your souls to have a better life. How is it any different? In such cases, there are no 'innocent bystanders'.
In the end, nothing will be done to properly remove this virus. It isn't anything new, and only Pakistanis will stupid enough to continue to get caught by it. Until then, like always, it will be swept under the carpet. The only difference is that now we have to pretend that every public character should be a saint. And despite this incident, and despite the fact that almost every single Pakistani believes that almost every single match on television is fixed, we will still be shocked by the next time there is a 'crisis'. Sports fans truly are the most gullible group of sane beings that any marketer could ever dream of.
P.S. Do you see what the ECB is doing right now? The steps it is taking? That is how a competent and self-respecting organization should act when allegations are made against it. If the PCB had done THAT, then this rant would have been redundant...
