Daily Times

While I was researching the history of the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) disputes, I came upon an otherwise hard-nosed analysis of the issue that Pakistan cricket has the unique legacy to self-destruct, inherited from the biology of nepotism and political infection. This odd juxtaposition of corruption, meritocracy and political power piqued my interest, and I asked an analyst friend to track down this curious national behaviour. I was fascinated by what seemed to be a chronic feature of subcontinental historiography and identity: the very deliberate plague of national humiliation. The more I looked for a national humiliation discourse, the more I found. Though they do not receive much attention in western analysis, it turns out that there are textbooks, novels, poems and folklore referring to national humiliation in the ‘east’. I continued looking for examples of such national humiliation in other countries.

I found that such activities are mostly limited to the political culture of the ‘east’. Humiliation is a common and recurring theme in our domestic and national politics, being invoked far and wide in a diverse set of circumstances. Cricket fan or not, all are concerned over the state of affairs at the PCB and recent acts of legality perpetrated against the administrative branch of the entity. A grand tamasha (spectacle) it may be, but so what? Since the nation and fans all over the world noted the decision by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) and then Supreme Court (SC) in the game of musical chairs to oust its chairman Najam Sethi, responding to a petition filed by a former Rawalpindi Cricket Association official and then the SC on Wednesday suspended the IHC’s earlier decision of reinstating Zaka Ashraf as chairman of the PCB. It is difficult not to condemn this latest act of national humiliation and insult, which has brought the PCB into disrepute by its actions, which smack of vengeance and political bullying. This can only hurt the PCB and its service to the fans of Pakistani cricket.

Pakistani cricket is officially a laughing stock. As if there was not enough evidence of late to support that theory, last Saturday came the definitive moment: Zaka Ashraf was restored to the PCB chairmanship by the IHC ruling, reincarnating the confusion that has plagued Pakistani cricket for months. In its 26-page order, the IHC said the lawyers appearing for the respondents could not “prove the reason for removal of the earlier set-up of the board”. No, that is not a misprint, you read right. The IHC made the decision against Sethi because lawyers failed to demonstrate that illegality was practiced earlier when, in February 2014, the Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif dissolved the board of governors and dismissed Zaka Ashraf for the second time, and reappointed Sethi as chairman, heading an eight-member committee to run cricket in Pakistan. What a complete farce. The task the PCB is meant to complete involves listing simple points on how cricketers’ individual performances and those of the team can be improved after the team continued to suffer heavy losses in recent tournaments. Simple as it may seem, the tenuous tenures of Mr Sethi and Mr Ashraf have embarrassingly failed to do so. All should be extremely embarrassed. Not so much because they failed to do their homework but because they gave every impression that they do not care about the team improving.

One would hope that after being snubbed by the IHC, the Prime Minister (PM) would gracefully admit the loss he has caused and look for ways to work with the reinstated chairman. Instead, he seemingly could not be bothered. Honestly, it would have taken five minutes for him to complete the task even if he did not care. Yet that is the point: he should have cared. He should have wanted to spend a considerable amount of time really analysing what his role as the patron of PCB is and how Pakistani cricket could get better after such an embarrassing administrative showdown. Instead, Mr Sharif has shown poor leadership skills, certainly did not exhibit a ‘leave no stone unturned’ approach to giving a valid reason for dismissing Mr Zaka, and failed to set a good example as the patron of the board. The PM should have known better but he did nothing for the PCB’s reputation of being disordered, unstable and unreliable. Mr Sharif should be doing everything he can to get back the PCB and Pakistani cricket’s respect in the world. One would like to hope that Mr Sharif shared Imran Khan’s passion for the men in green shirts. I totally understand the sentiment that a line in the sand needs to be drawn occasionally, and that the players should be held accountable for their actions. Yet, by the same token, the ongoing PCB tamasha is ridiculous, making Pakistani cricket an embarrassment. Surely there are other less painful ways to punish our national pride?

Any scenario in which leaders do not fulfil their duties shows a lack of respect towards the cause, gives the impression they do not care about Pakistani cricket and are actually ambivalent towards the team improving. This suggests all is not well within the PCB changing room. I am almost certain an alternative strategy could have been utilised, one that does not hurt the image of Pakistani cricket all over in the world yet still highlights the severity of the incompetence of the PCB administration. And what would have happened if Mr Ashraf was left to run the PCB? Would Pakistani cricket have been strengthened? Probably not, but it may have survived embarrassment at the cost of corruption and malignant nepotism rampant in the corridors of Pakistani politics. Whichever way you analyse the drama, it suggests something is seriously wrong with Pakistani cricket.

Cricket may perplex much of the world but the sport is emotional ecstasy to Pakistanis, which is one reason the chairman PCB has assumed such importance among the media and fans. Insiders on the cricket board depict Sethi as a visionary who operated in his short stay at the PCB with merit and order. However, the board is in a compromised position. Many commentators are worried that the board has divided loyalties and Mr Sethi could not have been completely ignorant of such actions. Sethi says he did nothing wrong and has made decisions in the best interests of Pakistan cricket, which should get honoured even if he were not the chairman PCB. Even before the dismissal of Sethi the board was criticised as lacking transparency and was accused of conflicts of interest. Such a notion is confirmed when dismissed chairmen react in such an over-the-top, heavy-handed manner; one that screams of attempting to show who the real boss is.

It is a sorry state of affairs, and there are few winners from the whole fiasco — apart from perhaps the black sheep in the PCB, who may earn themselves another few days to loot by sheer default. After the debacle of recent PCB humiliations, many people asked if Pakistan cricket had hit rock bottom. I scoffed at the suggestion, believing that to be far removed from the truth. Now I am not so sure. Even by the tumultuous standards of Pakistan cricket’s politics, the ongoing confrontation between the IHC and the cricket board is shocking. Highly politicised, secretly wealthy, largely unaccountable, the cricket board wields enormous influence in Pakistan. Undeniably, for years, politicians have had their say in the administration of the game. Today, politicians and bureaucrats only lead cricket to improve revenue and financial standing rather than the urge to win cricket as a game.

The writer is a member of the Diplomate American Board of Medical Psychotherapists Dip.Soc Studies, member Int’l Association of Forensic Criminologists, associate professor Psychiatry and consultant Forensic Psychiatrist at the Huntercombe Group United Kingdom. He can be reached at fawad_shifa@yahoo.com