Daily Times

My last article ‘The errant three’ (Daily Times, February 8, 2011) brought me some very severe criticism from lovers of the game. It seems that I had omitted the most serious gaffe of the England tour by our Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Ijaz Butt, who declared with a straight face that it was England who had thrown the fourth game; implying that the England team was in the books. After this irrational behaviour, the sentences meted out to the ‘errant three’ seem lenient if the actions of the chairman are taken into consideration. The enormity of the chairman’s errors is now bringing into sharp focus the real reasons for the present sad state of cricket management in Pakistan. When the English board threatened the chairman with a lawsuit, he flew to London, and grovelled before the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), till the ECB relented and stopped the legal proceedings. The chairman should have been sacked at that stage but for some strange reason he was allowed to continue, allowing him to play mischief by delaying the naming of the captain for the world cup. This has completely put Shahid Afridi under unnecessary added pressure. The president, as the patron of the PCB, is duty-bound to remove him forthwith as our entire standing in the cricket world is in ruins. We have a chairman who is a danger to our national prestige, as shown by the debacle in England. His lack of control allowed three Pakistani players to be duped by the bookie, in the News of the World sting operation. Why is the patron not taking any action? Surely there is enough evidence to sack him. Why does the president hang on to him, as in the case with the Managing Director Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), till its workers forced the airline to a standstill? Only then did the president act. Even a parliamentary committee has strongly recommended his removal but unfortunately without any response from the president.

Our Pakistan team is the finest eleven that we have on hand and have an excellent chance in this world cup. We should consider ourselves lucky that the errant three are out, courtesy the International Cricket Council (ICC). It is also strange that Mohammad Aamir according to reports, refused to turn approver. On the other hand, Salman Butt has been allowed to provide commentary for a television channel even after he was caught and severely punished. He has obviously some powerful backing, which must be exposed immediately. It is also apparent that the betting syndicates invariably target our cricketers, as they are perceived to be weak. It is due to these preconceived notions that Salman Butt should be kept as far away from cricket as is possible. As a commentator he will be in a position to interact with the players and this should be prevented. Having brought so much shame on our national team he should be barred from any link to cricket. He should certainly not have continued interaction with Pakistani players.

As many of the games are being played in India and Mumbai is the centre of the bookie mafias, the team management must be very careful. The bookies and their scouts will be on the lookout for any information, or contact that will allow them a margin to exploit. This must be prevented at all costs.

Our biggest loss was the expulsion of three match winners. This could have been prevented but for our team management. Even now our talent is formidable and given the fighting spirit of Shahid Afridi and our team, we can win. The captain’s aggression on the field and his desire to win is as important as is his ability to hit sixes.

Ijaz Butt as chairman has singlehandedly served to remove Pakistan from any venue in this world cup. This has disappointed millions of Pakistani fans, who have been denied a live match here. Sometimes one can only wonder at the number of mistakes he was allowed to make at the cost of Pakistan. President Zardari should act immediately to remove Ijaz Butt and give Pakistan a fighting chance. With Ijaz continuing as chairman our winning chances are indeed bleak.

The writer is a freelance columnist