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cricket Need for
commercialised cricket The bad boy of Pakistan cricket squash Down and out? What
price the projection of Pakistan’s image? A debut scripted in heavens On the ninth of October, 1976, Javed Miandad played his first Test. He went on to smash a memorable 163 against a New Zealand attack spearheded by the legendary Richard Hadlee By Ijaz Chaudhry Till to date, Test cricket has seen more than 2,600 debuts. A few have been sensational. A few were greatly anticipated. However, there have been rare instances when a widely anticipated Test debut also turned out to be sensational. The scribe has been a witness to one. I had been a keen reader of sports pages of daily newspapers and also of ‘The Cricketer’, Pakistan’s only magazine on cricket at that time. The print pages started flashing one name on the domestic scene — Javed Miandad. He made his first-class debut in 1973-74 when just 16. Miandad had scores of 50, 80 and 31 in his first three innings. More than the runs scored, it was his natural (though not a copy book) style and confidence that instantly impressed everyone who saw him in action including no less than the most important figure in Pakistan cricket. Abdul Hafeez Kardar was not only the president of the PCB, then called BCCP, but also the first Test captain of Pakistan. A man of few words, Kardar declared Miandad, “the find of the decade”. Little surprise, right from that day, he was under the microscope. Miandadís was a
meteoric rise. In his first first-class season, he played against the
visiting Sri Lankans, first for Sindh and then for the Pakistan
Under-19, his first representative match. In 1974, he toured England as
the vice-captain of the Pakistan Under-19 side. Achievements and laurels
were arriving thick and fast. In 1974-75, when just 17, he captained
Sindh in Pakistan’s domestic season and led them to the final of the
Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. It was followed by 311 against the National Bank in
April 1975 (who later that year won the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy) becoming
the youngest scorer of a first-class triple century. His first Pakistan selection came for the inaugural 1975 World Cup where his first cap arrived against the mighty West Indians, the eventual champions, on the eve of his 18th birthday. A mature innings of 24 (run out) impressed everyone. In January 1976, he made a tour of Sri Lanka with the national team and played in the unofficial Tests. However, Miandad’s entry into the Test arena was anxiously awaited. Pakistan didn’t play any Tests in the 1975-76 season but he had debuted for Sussex that season. He played in five first-class matches and in the last three had scores of 135 not out, 92, 162 and 82. Come 1976-77, New Zealand arrived in Pakistan for three Tests. The tourists played their opening match, a three dayer, against the NWFP Chief Minister’s XI comprising almost entirely of promising youngsters knocking on the doors of Test cricket including Miandad. Richard Hadlee, in his last international outing had taken 11 wickets in the Test against India including 7-23 in the second innings — a New Zealand record. In the second innings, Hadlee started like a menace and soon the home team was two down for three. Enter Miandad, he ran into the Kiwi attack and had scored 138 when the declaration came at 240 for three. The tourists’ next game was another three day, against the ZA Bhutto’s X1, a virtual Pakistan Test side. Having had a good feel of Pakistani conditions in the previous game, Hadlee blasted the home team’s much vaunted batting. They were dismissed for just 188 in their only completed innings of the rain interrupted match with Hadlee taking 5-47. As per the expectations of the whole cricketing population of Pakistan, Miandad was in the XI for the first Test. Thus arrived the much awaited debut of the boy prodigy, on the ninth of October, 1976, the opening day of the 1st Test between Pakistan and New Zealand at the Qaddafi Stadium, Lahore. New Zealand were not given much chance against a strong Pakistan side studded with a wonderful batting line-up. All the top five- Majid Khan, Sadiq Mohammad, Zaheer Abbas, Mushtaq Mohammad and Asif Iqbal were well-established names in international cricket. Miandad’s name was penciled after them. Some of them were in prime form. Zaheer Abbas, with 2554 runs at 75.11, had topped both the aggregate and averages in the 1976 county championships. His Gloucestershire teammate Sadiq Mohammad became the first batsman to score four consecutive centuries in a county season since 1949 while captain Mushtaq Mohammad had scored 1620 runs at an average of 50.62 for Northants. Mushtaq won the toss and Pakistan opened the batting in front of a full house. But soon the cheering crowd fell silent as the top order fell like a pack of cards. Richard Hadlee had started from where he had left in his last Test outing, and also his last first class outing, against the same batting line-up at least the first six in the order. The great fast bowler dismissed the openers, Majid and Sadiq, and Mushtaq with only 44 on the board. It soon became 55 for four when Zaheer was surprisingly bowled by the occasional bowler Burgess. Miandad joined his vice-captain Asif Iqbal. One couldn’t have thought of a worse situation for a youngster to bat in his debut innings. Add to it, the pre-match expectations from Miandad. But the lad displayed amazing temperament right from the word go. He started defensively but surely. The first session ended with no sign of things to come. After lunch, Miandad opened up his shoulders and started dominating the show at his own terms. Remember, his partner at the other end was Asif Iqbal, one of the most cavalier batsmen his country had ever produced, who had been playing at the highest level for no less than 12 years. Yet, Miandad outshone Asif. Later, Asif admitted that Miandad was batting with such a self-belief that I never tried to guide him during the entire partnership. There were strokes all around the wicket. Miandad upped the gear after reaching 50. All of a sudden everyone realized that the lad had reached 90. Richard Collinge, the most experienced Kiwi bowler was bowling. The teenager hit him for three consecutive fours to reach his century. The crowd was delirious and the whole stadium stood up to applaud. At the age of 19 year and 119 day, Miandad had become the youngest batsman to score a century on Test debut. When he returned for tea, Kardar was there at the boundary ropes to receive him. One, already with an appetite for big scores, Miandad continued in the same vein in the last session as well. He was finally dismissed for 163. Once again, he received a standing ovation. His partnership of 281 with Asif Iqbal was a new Pakistan record for the fifth wicket against any country and stands even today. And one can easily decipher his domination of the stand. Miandad ended his Test career in 1993 and is universally recognised as his country’s greatest ever batsman. He is the only batsman in history whose Test average never dipped below 50. It was a privilege for me to be there in the stands when he announced his arrival at the big stage exactly 35 years ago. Even now it seems to be a piece of fiction. ijaz62@hotmail.com
Need
for commercialised cricket Imran Khan remains busy holding political discussions and press conferences these days. Cricket rarely receives his attention now. But there was a time when cricket was his only concern. Then he used to criticise the structure of Pakistan’s domestic cricket a lot. He wanted to see first-class tournaments to be played among cities, not departments. His argument was that first-class games between cities would attract people and generate money. The changes he wanted to see have occurred at last though there is still a long way to go. Now that T20 tournaments are being regularly held, in which teams representing cities take part, people are coming to grounds in large numbers exactly as he predicted. Besides, millions are watching the matches on television. There seems to be no fatigue among watchers. And the most encouraging thing is that these teams have got sponsors too. Most of the teams that played the recent T20 tournament in Karachi were supported by sponsors. People love to see
cricket games among different Pakistani cities as they root for team or
the other. But on the other hand, they have no interest in watching
matches played between departments. Why should anyone support NBP or PIA
or WAPDA or KRL? What have people got to do with them? Even if someone
is an employee of any one of them, he wouldn’t bother about watching. People might say that much of the improvement in the number of people going to stadiums can be attributed to the emergence of T20 cricket. But that is an incorrect perception. Few people would go to stadiums, if T20 cricket games were organised between departments. So it is not only the T20, but also the change of structure that has added gloss to these tournaments. Much remains to be done, though. The change needs to be extended to first-class tournaments. There should be matches only among cities in the first-class trophies and commercial organisations should sponsor them. The teams should be called by the name of the city they represent, not by the name of the sponsor. Or the departments can sponsor individual cricketers who may be playing for different teams. For example, National Bank of Pakistan can continue to sponsor Shoaib Malik who plays for Sialkot Stallions. Former first-class cricketers complain of lack of money and fame in domestic cricket. They say that first-class cricketers in England or Australia or other countries earn considerable fame and money. That is because of the structure there. People go to watch matches between different counties in England. People go to watch matches between local teams in Australia and South Africa, which generates revenue. This is the reason why many players who are not considered for Pakistan or are discarded choose to play first-class cricket in other countries. Saqlain Mushtaq, Azhar Mahmood and Muhammad Akram are a few examples. If domestic first-class cricket is to be popularised among people, its structure will have to be altered. Teams representing cities will attract people to grounds. Tens of millions will watch the matches on TV. Profits will follow. It is true that achieving this will be very difficult. But this will have to be done, if the Pakistani first-class cricket is to be commercialised. Currently, it looks like a charity event wherein commercial organisations give a meagre salary to local players. Many organisations are doing this unwillingly because they have not been in profits for years like PIA and WAPDA. They refuse to promote the players and enhance their salaries even after they have played for them for years. Those who get to play for Pakistan get somewhat better remuneration and perks, but the financial position of the rest remains abysmally poor. Only those organisations should take up the responsibility of sponsoring teams that can treat players with respect and give them their due. A counter argument in response to Imran’s suggestions used to be that the departmental cricket guarantees permanent jobs for players. But the point is that if first-class cricket is truly commercialised, cricketers will no longer need to cling to jobs paying a few thousand rupees because they will have earned enough in their 15 or 20 playing years. The job of commercialising first-class cricket demands a lot of patience. The PCB must treat it as a business. And businesses take time to grow and start giving dividends. If the first step is taken today and progress remains continuous, there will be no lack of money in local cricket six to eight years down the road. It is time that we take the first baby step now. hassas5@gmail.com
The
bad boy of Pakistan cricket Shoaib Akhtar recently stormed back into controversy amidst breaking news not with the ball but with the pen. Autobiographies are often launched by great players who have achieved something unique in their career over a period of time and are remembered for their greatness. This is by no means an attack on Shoaib’s greatness but the fact that the biography came within six months of his retirement does beg a few questions. Aptly titled, the book yet to surface the Pakistani bookshelves has created quite a stir in the Indian media and certain excerpts have made Shoaib the centerfold of attention again for controversy; something which comes naturally to him. It is an undisputed fact that Shoaib for a good period was the ‘blue eyed’ boy of Pakistan cricket especially in Tauqir Zia’s tenure as the chairman when the pacer received preferential treatment much to the dismay of many others. Shoaib was no doubt in his prime during Zia’s tenure but at the same time due to having bowled seriously fast he suffered from various injuries, not to forget the whole action saga when he was called for chucking while delivering the ball. However, in due course and after many expensive tests held in Australia at the cost of the PCB, Shoaib was cleared to play having declared his bowling arm as defective by birth something that was natural and could not be fixed. Another such instance
of Shoaib being pampered by the PCB is that of a West Indies tour when
the side was led by Moin Khan and Shoaib who was injured and not
expected to play was still on tour. He at best played a One-day
International and in that too did not bowl his full quota of ten overs
but continued to be on the tour till the very end. In Shoaib’s defence and in my view as well, his disciplinary issues have been a cause for total failure on the part of the PCB to manage a young and rising bowler like him. For a minute if we are to give him his due share, let us be fair in giving him the margin and putting ourselves in his shoes, I mean imagine being the fastest bowler in the world, not only fast but also someone who can swing the ball both ways, reverse swing it and someone who batsmen all around the world shiver while facing. All this at a tender young age with no background as such and limelight people crave for, one ought to have some pompousness about them. It’s the idea of being the fastest in the world, the toll it takes on your body, the long hours you put up with in the gym in order to maintain the pace and fitness of the body is no small feat in itself. We ought to give Shoaib some credit for entertaining us over the years, for shattering wickets at express pace, for making the best batsmen look like amateurs and winning matches when we all thought it was over. Perhaps he wasn’t managed well by the PCB often being on their wrong side for various reasons but then again when does the PCB actually manage anything at all? Or for that matter when our stars and upcoming players on a national level looked after or nurtured by the PCB? If that was the case then perhaps the whole episode with Mohammad Amir would not have taken place! I do not blame players for being controversial but it’s the PCB who does not seem to have a policy of managing players mostly because of its own ad-hoc nature when the top officials themselves aren’t sure of their positions. Shoaibís case is no different; he was the fastest in the world and rightly so had an attitude about it and if he had been managed rightly would have gone down as one of the best fast bowlers in Pakistan’s history. Furthermore what is more intriguing is the response of the Pakistani media in terms of the excerpts of Shoaib’s book especially in relation to the comments made about his Indian colleagues. The question being why is our media concerned about Shoaib’s remarks more than the Indian media itself, if anything we ought to back our star bowler. Thankfully Shahid Afridi’s remark regarding Sachin Tendulkar trembling at the sight of facing Shoaib is for once something positive in terms of backing our own men and who better than Afridi to do it. If anything I would have backed Shoaib and supported his contention since there is no cavil in the fact that in his prime Shoaib was Tendulkar’s nemesis as a matter of record. Whatever Shoaib may have said regarding Wasim is nothing more than a spat that Pakistani cricketers are used to having and something we as cricket followers are also used to seeing, nothing new in Pakistan cricket and as it is part and parcel of the game. Similarly with regards to his comments about Shoaib Malik as I have already in my previous articles shed light on; the fact that Malik has always been given preferential treatment due to his Punjabi link in spite of being pointed out by Imran Khan time and again when Malik was captain that when he Malik himself cannot merit a place in the team how is he supposed to lead a team also not to forget that Imran has himself many a times accepted himself that ball-tampering has always been part of the game. Different bowlers’ in different eras have tampered the ball in different ways, something which cannot be monitored in spite of modern day camera technology. Hair gels, oils, back of the zips etc are all different ways of tampering with the ball; Shoaib has not said anything which is already not practiced in the cricketing world. He has once again stirred controversy but has not stated anything which is out of the blue and we ought to back him as a nation. The
writer is a practising barrister in the high courts of Pakistan umairkazi@gmail.com
squash Just days after Pakistan’s squash chiefs fell short of taking concrete action against the man at the centre of the country’s catastrophic performance in the 2011 World Team Championship, the world squash chiefs banned him for a year for bringing the game into disrepute last Friday. World Squash Federation’s penalty against Irfan Asghar — the secretary of the Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) — came almost three months after Asghar tried to hide his own blunder by shifting the blame on the WSF. Asghar, in an interview with this writer in July this year, claimed that a delay by the WSF in sending visa letters to Pakistan was the prime reason why the Belgium Embassy in Islamabad refused to issue visas to Pakistani players, preventing them from featuring in the World Junior Individual Championship that took place in Belgium from July 13-17. He had also hinted that WSF President N Ramachandran had a malicious role in preventing the Pakistani players from obtaining the visas. After being asked to
explain his statement by a disciplinary committee of the WSF (DAC),
Asghar denied ever talking to me. According to the WSF officials, who
carried out the probe, he suggested that these comments were totally a
personal statement by me. However, the WSF decided to carry on the probe and after taking a look at my telephone log came to the conclusion that a phone call of six minutes duration on July 11 2011 came from Asghar’s mobile phone. The WSF has also confirmed that Asghar blundered while trying to arrange for visas for national players who were supposed to represent Pakistan in the World Junior Championship in Belgium. “In respect to the visa application for the Pakistani players, the DAC established that the first request for a letter of support from WSF was made on 24 June 2011. This was less than three weeks before the start of the championship. This request for the letter of support was confused in that it was sent to the German hosts of the World Men’s Team Championship, which was an unrelated championship. “A follow up email was sent by Pakistan Squash to WSF on June 29. Their email clarified their request and the support letter was sent by WSF the same day this follow up was received. “Given the confusion caused by forwarding the request to the organisers of another event, the DAC did not accept that there was any fault with the WSF office, and took the view that the requests were unreasonably late and there must have been doubt whether visas could have been issued prior to the event in any case. The DAC also found no evidence in Asghar’s claim that Ramachandran was somehow involved in the visa fiasco. “The allegation made by Irfan Asghar in respect to Mr N Ramachandran was in effect an allegation of corruption by the President of the WSF. The DAC determined that the WSF President has no involvement in such matters and that as there was an immediate response this was completely unfounded and the malicious allegation brought the President, the World Squash Federation, and the sport into disrepute,” said the WSF statement. “The decision of the DAC is to ban Irfan Asghar from any involvement in all WSF events for a period of 12 months from October 7, 2011 and to impose a fine of £500.00, payable within 30 days.” Personally, I believe that WSF has taken a decision which should have come from the PSF itself. Asghar’s role in the Belgian visa fiasco deprived Pakistan of a perfect chance to regain the world junior title. No Pakistani has won the coveted crown since the legendary Jansher Khan clinched it way back in 1986. That’s not enough. Just weeks after that goof-up, Asghar was sent to Germany as Pakistan team’s sole official at the World Team Championship. Pakistan, six-time champions, crashed to a humiliating 22nd place finish in the championship. Later, PSF chiefs banned Pakistan players — Aamir Atlas, Yasir Butt and Waqar Mehboob — for deliberately under-performing in the event. However, they only issued a warning to Asghar. Nobody bothered to grill him about his own role in the most embarrassing disaster Pakistan squash has ever suffered. Players like Aamir are accomplished professionals and to think that they deliberately threw matches for no rhyme or reason would be foolish. I won’t defend the players but if they were responsible then what about the official who was sent to Germany by the PSF to get the best out of the team? It’s crystal clear that under Asghar’s watch, Pakistan gave their worst performance in the history of squash. The bad news is that Pakistan squash has hit rock bottom. What it needs now is clear cut measures that are aimed at lifting the game. Our squash chiefs will have to come out with a game plan. They will have to stop relying on incompetent officials to run the federation. They will have to go to the grassroots. They will have to start long-term projects which can activate the sport in schools and colleges around the country. It’s time that our squash authorities stopped living in self-denial. They should learn from the case of Irfan Asghar. khalidhraj@gmail.com
Down
and out? Apart from hockey, in which Pakistan have already qualified for the London Olympics after winning gold in the Asian Games in China last year, boxing seems to be the only sport in which the country has some hopes to make it to the world’s most prestigious sporting event. Although three Pakistani boxers crashed out of the World Championship in Azerbaijan just a few days ago, the national pugilists still have a chance to fight for Olympic berths as they will also have to appear in the Asian qualifying round which will be hosted by Kazakhstan in Astana in March next year. But realistically speaking, if a solid preparatory plan is not prepared and executed properly then Pakistan would not be able to spring any surprise in that event too and their dream to make a comeback at the Olympics after eight years would remain a dream. Pakistan entered in the World Championship in Azerbaijan in dramatic fashion when one of their key hopes Britain-based Haroon Khan was stopped by the International Boxing Association (AIBA) from representing Pakistan because of nationality issue. AIBA stopped the Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Haroon Khan on the plea that because Haroon had represented England as a junior boxer in 2009 therefore the English lad is not eligible to play for Pakistan in the Olympics. Although the Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) claims that Haroon’s issue has been resolved but insiders say that the federation has not yet received anything in writing about Haroon’s fate from AIBA. Now, I am going to
tell some bitter truth in my article. What I am writing here is
disclosed to me by my sources actively involved in all the boxing
affairs in the lead up to the World Championship and my own
communication with the boxing officials of Pakistan. Haroon’s ouster at the eleventh hour from the World Championship was a serious blow for Pakistan but in reality it was a blessing in disguise as it protected the country’s boxing chiefs from utter humiliation. The story is that Pakistan’s key boxer Mohammad Waseem was asked by the PBF after his arrival from the ASBC Asian Championship in Incheon (South Korea) in August that he will have to appear in the 49kg in the World Championship in Baku while Haroon will be fielded in the 52kg. Waseem, who belongs to Quetta, refused to do so and told the PBF top officials that he would not be able to reduce his weight because it would weaken his body. Team sources told me that the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) medical wing chief Dr Waqar Ahmad had also advised Waseem that weight reduction would weaken him a lot and he would not be able to perform properly. The team coach was also against it and had told the PBF after the Asian Championship in South Korea that Waseem cannot reduce his weight. Just a couple of days before the team’s departure for Azerbaijan for the World Championship, a PBF top official told me that Waseem will feature in the 49kg in the Baku extravaganza. It was practically impossible because Waseem had not reduced his weight and could face an exit during weigh-in at the world affair. It is not exactly known when AIBA had informed the PBF about its ruling on Haroon Khan, the uncertainty on weight issue was ended when a PBF official telephoned the team coach that Waseem will play in the 52kg in the World Championship and if he failed to qualify for the Olympics he will not be given any more chance in any weight category in the next qualifying round to be held in Astana next year. The PBF officials permitted Waseem to play in the 52kg in the Baku event only after Haroon was stopped by AIBA. On the evening of Pakistan team’s departure for Baku, Haroon Khan’s father confirmed it to me that AIBA had stopped his son from competing in the World Championship and if he is cleared he will appear in the next year’s qualifying round in the 52kg as he said that Haroon cannot reduce his weight. Astonishingly, two days ago, Haroon’s father had told me something else which after the actual disclosure left me shell-shocked. The PBF had also forced Waseem to feature in 49kg category in the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi last year in which he claimed bronze medal while Haroon, who made his international debut for Pakistan in that event, had also lifted bronze in the 52kg. If Haroon cannot reduce his weight how can Waseem do it? Last week when Waseem lost his 52kg fight in the preliminaries of the World Championship against Elias Emigdio of Mexico 14-18, PBF secretary Akram Khan told me that Waseem could have qualified for the Olympics had he been fielded in the 49kg, again an illogical remarks made by the official. Had the PBF kept fielding Waseem in the 49kg in all the international events that he participated in after the Commonwealth Games, the weight issue could have been avoided and Waseem could have fared better in Baku. After Waseem, Aamir Khan was the other casualty for Pakistan in the World Championship, who after beating Bachtila Afdan of Indonesia in his opening bout of the 64kg, did not play according to his potential against Mehdi Toloutibandpi of Iran who won the fight 11-5, 6-5 and 11-7. Mohammad Hussain, who is also the nephew of Olympian Asghar Ali Shah, was beaten by Aboubakr of Mauritania 8-19 in his 56kg opening bout. Hussain, who had toured China and Korea in 2009, should not have been fielded in the World Championship directly without testing him in any other international event before the Olympic qualifying round. All such casualties and awkward things in Pakistan boxing show that the authorities lack insight and don’t have the proper guts required for running the affairs of such a vital sports discipline in which Pakistan had once a say in Asia under former AIBA chief late Professor Anwar Chowdhry. Pakistan have also to their credit a bronze medal in the 1988 Seoul Olympics, which was lifted by Hussain Shah, who is now based in Japan. The PBF seems clueless and does not know how to raise the standard of the game. They don’t have a sufficient pool of talented boxers and depend only on a few tried-and-tested boxers. If we look around, we will see no bright future for boxing in Pakistan. No jobs for boxers, no proper administration, no ethics, no selection on merit, persistent interference of top boxing chiefs in the working of coaches etc are the ills dogging this sport. If the authorities want to revive lost glory they will have to work extra hard while putting aside their own interests. It is not the right time to consume millions of funds on holding international events but it is an ideal time to broaden the base, groom the boxers, coaches, establish ac full-fledged national academy and to develop infrastructure. Our boxing authorities should know how to deal with the media. If media is rightly briefed without any concocted stuff, the output would be better. Providing wrong information to the media, only for the sake of publicity, would lead to disaster. After all our three boxers crashed out of the World Championship, the PBF should start working for the next year’s qualifying round and pick few top boxers purely on merit and then train them on foreign soil, if possible, under a foreign coach with a sound track-record. The credit will go to the PBF only if any Pakistan-based boxer qualifies for the Olympics. Haroon, being a brother of world champion Aamir Khan, is an exceptional case as he has all the facilities available to him in England and elsewhere in the world and has his own coach as well. And if he makes the cut for London Olympics while representing Pakistan in the next qualifying round, the credit will not go to the PBF but to the England-born lad and his family. Waseem, who did not play badly in Baku, should be given another chance in the next qualifying round as he is a talented boy and if he clicks there he could spring a surprise.
What
price the projection of Pakistan’s image? The reluctance shown by PCB boss Ijaz Butt to move the recently-concluded Twenty20 tournament to Karachi about defines his attitude to Karachi or indeed Sindh cricket. I believe it is fair to state that had the orders come from any body lesser than the Patron, the move that upset Lahore and Butt, would not have happened. Dengue was not going to be enough and PCB would have happily put players at risk. At the opening ceremony the attitude and lack of enthusiasm of the organisers spoke volumes about the resentment they felt. Could this be due to the losses caused to their supporting infrastructure in Lahore? Obviously new arrangements for caterers and other such facilities cannot be forged overnight in a new city! The Karachi public that has been deprived of cricket by the PCB did themselves proud by turning up in numbers to support the teams regardless of their province or city. I suppose the entire army of officials that turned up to get allowances and stay at one of the cityís leading hotels were absolutely necessary. This list could show any one interested just how many of the PCB establishment hails from Lahore. It is however a sad day when Karachi which used to produce two quality teams cannot even field one winning eleven. Shame on you Karachi Cricket Association! Events like this one
should always be treated with the view that it supports not only cricket
but also Pakistan and its image. It is therefore essential that the
production of the television transmission is approached with care. The
television picture is what the world sees. The best results are only
possible if the television production team is competent and able to
provide a polished product. It was unfortunate that PCB’s tournament was played at the same time as the IPL. The viewer had a ready comparison between an excellent production and a poor one. Channel 32 was broadcasting the local game and Channel 33 transmitting the IPL. Before anybody suggests that the scantily clad ladies were the difference let me say that there is much more technical expertise required. It needs the number of cameras and their locations, the ability of the cameramen, the co-ordination between the producer and the director and not least the polish and speed with which the replays and run-outs are brought to the viewer. In my view the quality of the commentators and the experts is also critical. I cannot believe that in a country of 180 million people who are cricket mad and with a vibrant television and drama industry that we cannot develop decent commentators. We will of course have to find a way of moving aside those that cling tenaciously to their seats. This can only happen if the sports channel insists on providing quality to their viewers. The PCB should be in the vanguard of this movement as it critically affects their product and the image of Pakistan. The tension as to whether Ijaz Butt will get an extension in his tenure is beginning to create a sense of hopelessness with the cricket lovers in and indeed out of Pakistan. Nature sadly keeps inflicting natural disasters on our country but this disaster to cricket is self inflicted. Enough has been written about it and thus once again I will limit myself to hoping that the end is near. It would seem that
between Butt, Intikhab Alam and the other members of the kitchen cabinet
nothing can be done without controversy. How difficult could it be to
select a decent coach for the Pakistan team? Quite frankly at this point
in time there will only be a limited number of foreigners who would be
interested and amongst them very few who could qualify for the job. Why
than do we go through this faÁade of appointing a committee for this
task. The PCB must have had to look hard for individuals like the selected a retired military officer who has been used whenever a yes man is needed. The whole of Pakistan is now fully aware that the decision will be made by Butt. The decision is bound to be controversial because nothing that is decided in the PCB appears to be without vested interest. The only thing that will be achieved is to create a thin veil to cover sordid reality. Sadly this veil will cost money which will leave even less for the players. Finally I believe in the appointment of Mohsin Hasan Khan as a temporary Coach for the forthcoming tour and the statement that during this time he will not act as the chief selector has taken ludicrousness to absolute stupidity. In addition the need to make an assistant manager for part of the time whilst one person performs Hajj makes the mind boggle. In a country of one hundred and eighty million people having a wealth of individuals who have successfully performed this task do we really feel that a person cannot be spared to perform his religious duties. Or does he wield enough influence that he wants to do both. Taking a retired military person out of the old closet is sad as some one new could have been blooded but in this case I feel that he should be entrusted with the job for the entire tour. In any case I have no doubt he will remain there for the entire period. malikgilani2002@gmail.com
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