Schumi keeps the saddle warm for Massa
By Abdul Ahad Farshori
Two years ago when Michael Schumacher decided to hang his helmet and said his good byes to the world of Formula one, no one expected him to return to race tracks nonetheless in these conditions, where Ferrari is struggling to regain its reputation on the tracks.

Ijaz Butt, Yawar Saeed, Intikhab Alam, and Mr Mohammad Naeem, a Chartered Accountant and Chairman PCB's brother-in-law are presently the cricket glitterati. Collectively, their experience and ages run close to three hundred years. PCB or an 'Old Home' in the making; we had to minus Saleem Altaf, almost 65 years of age from the list since he had not really been given a place in the coveted company. They had been in power since October 2008. And with the stories of their flair, flamboyance, uprightness and hard-nosed attitude the PCB, by now, should have been able to stand on its own; ironically we missed one very important link, it was being run by people who were barely able to stand on their own. It's not like having some pun intended, I have serious doubts this gingerly administration would last?

PCB messed the World Cup 2011 issue, though in his formative years as Chairman of the PCB, Butt wasn't really given a conducive environment, his apathy coming to terms with his new role as a cricket leader, his first clumsy step towards taking on the ICC and starting a cold war, he has been naÔve and innocent at heart believing that he could still put his weight through. I am particularly severe on Butt's regime, because it came something as a shock to me to learn how deeply insecure the PCB were about their own status and stature in the global market. I did not and still do not believe that the BCCI-ICC nexus represents a clear and present danger to the PCB, I do not believe there is an ideological conspiracy, I do not believe that BCCI at cricket's world forum is a ripe fruit to fall, but irrational, ill-timed, sporadically illogical and persistently apathetic management of critical issues have really stung and stung hard.

Butt tried collecting top stars in his regime, and gave an impression that he wanted the PCB to be run by high-profiled cricket professionals. Subsequently, he started relying on people in the inner circle that actually circled him into isolation. I am surprised how little confidence these elderly gentlemen have in them since people like Abdul Qadir, Aamer Sohail and even Javed Miandad were treated brusquely. I do not have to be a Sherlock Holmes to discover that this star cast was no accepted in the mainstream PCB as anything approaching equality. I think, Butt is ending into a pretty luckless and an isolated being.

Butt's biggest problem being at cricket's helm has been a very hostile environment, international issues, a uniquely eccentric and an unpredictable national team supplemented by his own erratic and more often radical decisions, and the most unwarranted sultry arrogance. He has tried relying, one more too often on non-technocrats such as his brother-in-law Mohammad Naeem. He had been impatient with and skeptical about his Chief Operating Officer Saleem Altaf and the ex-chief selector Abdul Qadir and his former Director of the National Cricket Academy and Game Development Aamer Sohail. Butt never evolved a management team and seemingly listened to what pleased him.

His was a standardised requirement to properly perform a specific job. It could encompass a combination of knowledge, skills and behaviour utilized to improve performance. It is always different, more generally, to be well qualified, having the ability to perform a specific role. Butt needed to capitulate on ICC's hostile stance towards the PCB, instead of using skills in influence and negotiation, he tried holding the bull by the horns whilst he was slipping into compost and with him has gone the integrity and power-base of Pakistan Cricket.

Dryly, the methods used to let go Abdul Qadir and treatment meted out to Aamer Sohail, whilst other meekly directors continue, Butt must have known that a person possesses a competence as long as the skills, abilities, and knowledge that constitute that competence are a part of them, enabling the person to perform effective action within a certain workplace environment.

Observing, though from a distance, Butt hasn't been able to gauge the requirements of top-tier management and quite evidently, in a broad set his radical decision making depicted extreme actions and emotions including self-harm. One example was regarding his inability or abstinence to take people to task who were responsible for providing security to Sri Lanka's team. There had to be someone from the PCB required to liaison with the Government of Punjab and like it happens in army, even a if truck turtles the Commanding Officer goes home. It was evidence enough of Butt's self-destructive behaviour using it as a coping mechanism, when things got too much. It is quite visible that he has lost it and now it is time for a change at the Pakistan Cricket Board.

It is time that the Pakistani game is given due respect. The PCB needs to re-organise and promoting the needs and goals of cricket management and to foster a propitious environment to develop future products for the national team. And unlike Butt, there has to be someone from the crowd to come in the seat of power meeting all the needs of a modernized sport: cultural, social, academic, professional, political, spiritual and personal. And in a broader perspective, it doesn't have to be about developing local resource and product it has to be done viewing Pakistan as an important cog in subcontinent's wheel. A sense of familia to be embedded in the very roots of Asia and PCB has to become proactive helping the state of the game in the region.

PCB could still flourish and become a stronger organisation, a force to reckon with within and outside Pakistan only we are eager to make this happen. We have to look forward to building on the issues we have had, but realistically cricketing alumni presently running the show has to bow out as soon as possible. And the alumni should be asked to revert to their television lounges and draped in English attire, a puff here and a puff there, they should try figuring out the ridiculousness of their rugged philosophies. It should be curtains for them and Butt, now.

While Pakistani youth would be busy looking for appropriate tuition centres to overcome their educational shortcomings or waiting for the power breakdown to be restored or many more unlucky ones would be waiting in long queues of IDPs to get registered for receiving aid items, the lucky ones in the better half of the globe would be preparing to participate in the first ever Youth Olympic Games to be held in Singapore in 2010.

The festive Youth Olympics would be featuring 26 sports, cultural and education programmes for 3600 young athletes between 14 and 18 years of age. This carnival will be organised with the support of 205 National Olympic Committees and 20,000 local and international volunteers that would remain part of the activity from August 14 to 26 this year.

The vision of youth Olympics is to inspire young people around the world to participate in sport and adopt and live by Olympic values. This would be an event of highest international sporting standard which has not caught the attention of national media in Pakistan.

It becomes evident from the age bracket of participants that athletes from high schools and colleges around the world would grace the occasion. The forthcoming Youth Olympics has further exposed our education and sports system where sport is still an extra-curricular activity with little relation to the overall education policy and where sport minister seems frustrated over the political rivalries among office bearers of some national federations.

The redundant education system of Pakistan is focused on rote learning methods with little space for organised sports and learning life skills. I happened to attend number of education conferences hosted by national and international organisations in cozy hotels, deliberating on primary, secondary and higher education issues from controlling dropout rates in primary schools to quality education in universities, with no mention of sports as a joyful experience of learning and method of teaching leadership skills.

The result of such disregard obviously results in delinquent behaviors amongst our youth that can be easily observed in there day to day life. They are excellent individuals but when put to a collective effort; fail to deliver as a cohesive team, as they have never learned to live in a socially responsible environment where collective efforts, goals and objectives overrule personal brilliance and ideas. The vital leadership skills and socially responsible attitudes are developed in the personalities of young people through the application of team sports in education institutions world wide.

The first Youth Olympics would set the context relevant for athletes to learn, contribute, interact and celebrate the Olympic movement, wellbeing and healthy lifestyle, skills development, social responsibility, awareness and new developments in digital media initiatives beside verity of sport and games.

This would be an opportunity for young athletes to look beyond themselves so as to make a positive impact on the people and environment around them, interact with other participants and facilitate the learning of new ideas and exploration of new cultures at such tender age.

These young athletes would be the ambassadors' of their respective countries dispensing the wrong impressions through their conduct both on and off the field.

Though squash and cricket would not be part of Youth Olympics, yet few may get a chance to go to newly built Sengkang hockey stadium to witness potential Pakistan youth hockey team in action. And few more would get an opportunity to learn about canoe-kayak, equestrian, modern pentathlon, aquatics and triathlon through live telecast of the event across the globe.

The 3600 strong young athletes, both men and women would display their skills in Athletics, Archery, Aquatics, Badminton, Basketball, Boxing, Canoe- Kayak, Cycling, Equestrian, Fencing, Football, Gymnastics, Hockey, Handball, Judo, Modern Pentathlon, Rowing, Sailing, Shooting, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Tennis, Triathlon, Volleyball, Weightlifting and Wrestling in 2010 Olympics.

The Youth Olympics would focus deep at doping issues amongst young athletes and wrist test would be an essential part of the games to ensure fair play amongst the even age group of the participants.

Unfortunately we have not heard so far about Pakistan's participation in the event. It is likely that Youth Olympics will also meet the same fate as of XXV summer Universiade where ignorance and incompetence of HEC regarding university sport affairs was fully exposed by national media.

Media must keep a close focus at the opportunity grabbing federation office bearers or some big wigs in Intermediate and Secondary education boards, to which the idea of participating in Youth Olympics at eleventh hour might strike as golden goose egg, breading an opportunity for a free joy ride to Singapore to gain "valuable experience" of sport management.

These sport lovers may like to consider mercy at depleted government exchequer. In case they are overwhelmed with the idea of gaining "valuable experience" at Youth Olympics, they may like to do it at their own expense by getting registered as volunteers with youth Olympic Committee, this indeed would be a great favour to the sport world in general and sport starved youth of Pakistan in particular.