By Muhammad Asif Khan
Karachi: At a glittering ceremony here, the former chief executive of the Board of Control for Cricket in Pakistan (BCCP) now the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Arif Ali Khan Abbasi has launched his biography titled ‘Not a Gentleman’s Game’.
Squash legend Jahangir Khan unfolded the ribbon to officially release the biography.
Former president of the International Cricket Council (ICC), Ehsan Mani, former Pakistan captains Intikhab Alam, Younis Khan, Moin Khan and Amir Sohail, and hockey greats Samiullah and Hanif Khan along with a number of former cricketers and people from other walks of life attended the glittering ceremony.
Addressing on the occasion, Arif Ali Khan Abbasi recalled his bond with Air marshal Nur Khan and termed the late administrator his mentor.
Speaking to the audience, former ICC president Ehsan Mani, former captain Intikhab Alam and former test cricketer Mohsin Khan also praised Arif Ali Khan Abbasi as an excellent cricket administrator.
Arif Ali Khan Abbasi has been the only person to be in an official position in the PCB for twelve and a half years.
In his book, ‘Not a Gentleman’s Game’, Arif Ali Khan Abbasi takes his reader along on his interesting journey from domestic cricket to making a mark on the international cricket scene.
From his first appointment as the Secretary of the BCCP in early 1980s to the landmark achievements, the book highlights the glorious period of Pakistan cricket under him.
In Arif Abbasi’s tenure, Pakistan successfully floated the concept of the Asian Cricket Council and later the match referees and neutral umpires. The author also tells about overcoming isolation, confronting Indian power and how Pakistan took the lead in bidding for the Reliance World Cup of 1987 without any support from India.
Not a Gentleman’s Game is about Arif Ali Khan Abbasi’s time in cricket and events he was personally involved in. He has spoken about what he believes to be, which is to create an environment in which the game of cricket flourishes and to provide an effective infrastructure, empowering the teams to fulfill their potential.
One finds out that during his tenure Pakistan was the sole country that voiced changes and implemented them. Changes like the third country umpires, ICC referees, professional managers, ball boys, commercialization of the World Cup of cricket and making it into a second largest tournament after the Football World Cup, creation of the Asian Cricket Council and finally the Asia Cup.
The reader also gets to know about the details of the conversion of PCB into a corporation introducing the disciplines and professionalism of corporate culture in the management of the game in Pakistan.
Abbasi ensured that the board would be transparent in its financial dealings and accountable to its stakeholders thereby helping the PCB to break free from the shackles of political interference.