Daily Times

Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2020’s fifth edition will commence from February 20, 2020, to March 22, 2020. An intriguing aspect of PSL’s fifth edition is that all 34 matches are going to be played in Pakistan. The enthusiasm of Pakistanis is in full swing as they keenly wait to watch their heroes playing in front of a home crowd. It is, inevitably, a monumental success of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in bringing cricket back home. Cricket is, indeed, a gentleman’s game for Pakistan. It is the only game that unites the whole nation.

Ironically, Balochistan, which holds 54 per cent of the country, is usually overlooked in the national cricket team as well as in the PSL. A pertinent question remains: can’t 54 per cent of the country produce players for PSL? The answer is no, the talent of Balochistan has, so far, not been discovered nor has PCB given enough chances to the players of Balochistan to showcase their mettle. Napoleon Bonaparte rightly said, “Talent without opportunity is nothing.”

Granting opportunities will showcase the players’ talent. Balochistan has, unfortunately, remained ignored as far as the provision of opportunities for cricket players is concerned. In the fourth PSL edition, Bismillah Khan and Asghar Khan were selected from Balochistan for Quetta Gladiators and Peshawar Zalmi respectively. Asghar Khan performed brilliantly. Nevertheless, he has not been selected for the fifth edition.

Bismillah Khan, a hard-hitting wicketkeeper-batsman from Balochistan, did not get enough chance in the presence of wicketkeeper-batsman, Sarfaraz Ahmad, in Quetta Gladiators. However, once he was given a chance, he made a spectacular half-century in a crucial match and won the match for his team. Pakistani ex-cricketers, Ramiz Raja and Waqar Younis, were dazzled by his performance and termed him a great prospect for Pakistan. Surprisingly, in 2019 PSL’s fourth edition, Moin Khan’s chubby son, Azam Khan, was preferred over Bismillah Khan. Azam Khan played for Quetta Gladiators while Bismillah Khan was a mere spectator, sitting in the pavilion.

Balochistan has, unfortunately, remained ignored as far as the provision of opportunities for cricket players is concerned

Naming the team “Quetta Gladiators” without selecting the indigenous players will not represent the province. Baloch players should be given opportunities in the PSL so that they make room in the national cricket team. Hammad Mengal, Secretary of the Quetta Cricket Association in the PSL’s third edition, was infuriated by the non-inclusion of Baloch players. He categorically said, “If you cannot include local Baloch cricketers in the Pakistan Super League then change the name of Quetta Gladiators.”

Meanwhile, Nasrullah Zayray, an elected MPA of Balochistan Assembly, also expressed his resentment over non-inclusion of Balochistan’s players in the fifth edition of PSL in his recent interview. He said that Balochistan had never benefited from PSL nor did PCB include officials of Balochistan in PCB and PSL.

He reiterated that Balochistan had plenty of talent and this talent was being deliberately squandered by PCB. He further said that Balochistan was not considered a part of Pakistan and had been ignored in every sector, including sports.

The PCB needs to learn a lesson from Indian Premier League (IPL); giving enough chances to Indian emerging players from far-flung areas. They have played for the Indian Cricket team and even won laurels in the international cricket. IPL has even granted opportunities to players of Indian-occupied Kashmir. Parvez Rasool from IOK was the first player who made his debut in the IPL in 2014. Rasikh Salam became the second player from IOK to play for Mumbai Indians team in the IPL.

The IPL provides ample opportunities to deserving players to become a part of the Indian national cricket team. The Indian cricket team’s prevailing unprecedented achievements in international cricket are the result of emerging and deserving players of IPL playing for India. India is, thus, considered the strongest team of world cricket.

To espouse the futuristic approach, the PCB needs to shun the discriminatory attitude towards Balochistan. It should give adequate opportunities to the players of Balochistan in the PSL. The PCB ought to build cricket academies across the province to find emerging players. In Balochistan, there is just one International Cricket Stadium named Bugti Cricket Stadium, Quetta. Intriguingly, in the last 72 years, Quetta has hosted only one international cricket match, which was played between Pakistan and Zimbabwe in 1996. The PCB is requested to give a few PSL matches to Bugti Cricket Stadium to buttress the morale of the ingenious players and the people of Balochistan.

Arguably, if under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor CPEC, an international airport and a five-star hotel can be built in Gwadar, why don’t policymakers build an international cricket stadium in Gwadar for international and PLS matches?

The city has scintillating views. Therefore, facilities of international standards ought to be materialised for international cricket matches; demonstrating to the world that Balochistan is a safe place for international cricket matches as well as for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

The writer works at the Institute of Strategic Studies, a think-tank based in Islamabad