Our beloved country is facing several problems these days on many fronts; especially in sports field we are going through a terrible phase due to some reasons. There are marathon challenges caused by lack of good people, corruption and politics. Especially after Pakistan was denied hosting international cricket matches on its soil, we are faced with a difficult situation; besides our national team performance also hasn’t been satisfactory on many occasions.
Right now Pakistan cricket team is on tour to England. Captain Misbah-ul-Haq has turned 42 but I think it is not a big deal because chairman PCB hasn’t set any deadline for our test captain. According to him he can play till when he feels like. If we talk in terms of age only then Misbah is not alone. Our respected chairman Nawabzada Shaharyar Mohammad Khan has turned 82.On the other hand team manager Intikhab Alam is to celebrate his 75th birthday towards the end of this year. This is not the end of story. Pakistan “A” team manager Naushad Ali Rizvi who played six Tests for Pakistan has also crossed 70 now. He will celebrate his 73rd birthday on Ist October this year.
If we take a look into our neighboring country, we see that chairman BCCI Anuragsingh Thakur is almost half of our worthy chairman’s age. Recently India announced Anil Kumble as the new coach for one year but here in Pakistan Mickey Arthur has been hired as coach for 2 year term and ex captain Inzamam-ul-Haq as chief selector for next 3 years. Currently team India enjoys better ranking than us but still they have not opted for long-term decisions in matter of key appointments. In contrast our chairman who himself is not sure of the duration of his commitment with the board is hiring people for a long-term commitment.
I agree with the famous saying that “age is just a number “but I also agree with people saying that one acquires experience, firmness and sensibility with the passing age. Despite having experience in the relevant field chairman PCB Shaharyar Khan seems to be no longer interested in continuing his job. This may be wrong but the decisions coming from the board these days reflect clear contradiction between his action and speech. Though there are many, within and outside PCB, who would like him to continue his job as chairman so that they continue enjoying privileges under his not so very firm leadership.