Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) operates in a strange manner. It likes to court problems. Simple things are distorted to the chagrin of those who have been there long enough as stakeholders to question the merits of a new experiment.
Take for instance the controversy surrounding the adamant drive by PCB’s wise-men to implement a draft selection process for the premier first-class tournament. Nowhere in the cricketing world has such a thing been done at the first class level.
Whoever thought of this novel idea must, surely, be out of his mind. But we know who that influential individual is. He has emerged as powerful as one can think of from the moment Zaka Ashraf and Najam Sethi were caught at the centre of the storm in their tussle for supremacy.
Take for instance the controversy surrounding the adamant drive by PCB’s wise-men to implement a draft selection process for the premier first-class tournament. Nowhere in the cricketing world has such a thing been done at the first class level.
Yes, no prize for guessing who is calling the shots in the corridors of power. Shakil Shaikh thinks whatever he plans for the domestic structure must be implemented. As the president of Islamabad Cricket Association, Shakil has been extremely close to the new PCB chief.
During Zaka-Sethi court battle, Shakil overwhelmingly sided with Sethi and when Zaka was finally shown the door, Sethi obliged his loyal rugged-looking lieutenant by trusting him in majority of key decisions and now he has assumed the position where none dares to question him.
After the departure of Shaharyar Khan, Shakil is in a commanding position. His presence in the setup spells doom for our cricket.
Shakil should be asked which of his masters he intends to please now by going ahead with this ridiculous idea for team selection.
Prof Ejaz Ahmed Farooqi may not have been very successful as president of the Karachi City Cricket Association — now of course renamed in PCB’s books as Karachi Regional Cricket Association — but he was a lone ranger during his final appearance at the governing board meeting where he raised his voice rightly for the sake of domestic cricket. He argued that the controversial plan would seriously undermine the sovereignty of the long-serving institutions like the KCCA (or KRCA).
We often hear words such as ‘favouritism’ and ‘nepotism’. How do we coin a new term for PCB’s latest brainwave?
But it is not just Shakil who is responsible for the mess in Pakistan cricket. There are many who have been in the PCB for years and years in one post or another. Haroon Rashid is the most prominent among the lot.
Shakil Shaikh thinks whatever he plans for the domestic structure must be implemented. As the president of Islamabad Cricket Association, Shakil has been extremely close to the new PCB chief.
A former Pakistan batsman, Haroon has had a rollercoaster ride in the cricket administration. After his playing days were over, Haroon served as an umpire and match referee. He also managed or coached various national squads or headed the senior committee or served as director game development. Haroon climbed his way to unimaginable height of being PCB’s director cricket operations out of nowhere.
We have seen it from the days of Lt. Gen Tauqir Zia to Shaharyar M. Khan to Dr Nasim Ashraf, Zaka Ashraf, Sethi and Shaharyar again. Haroon was usually found firmly clinging onto a position of importance.
Haroon is equally responsible for approving the dreaded plan. Shakil thinks it is a revolution. The majority of stakeholders have been reduced to non-participants and they have no choice but to obey the masters.
Who says the standard of first-class cricket would improve with the forced introduction of the draft-based selection process, which according to the big-mouthed Shakil will bring to an end the culture of political influence and outside interference.
But he knows well that a below-average character like Arsal Shaikh stands to benefit most from the incoming system.
Arsal, a former Pakistan Under-19 off-spinner with a mediocre playing record, needs no introduction because he doesn’t deserve much attention, given his status as cricketer and the family he comes from.
But if there is one glaring proof of nepotism in Pakistan cricket then one recommends a comprehensive research on this guy! One thing is sure that he is no Majid Jahangir Khan to merit extensive mention as someone famously hailing from a civilized background.
The PCB has a tendency of being prickly at times. Last season it even planned the whole schedule of domestic tournaments under its umbrella well in advance just as they do in England, Australia, New Zealand or South Africa.
But this time, the board found itself in a real tangle. Having conducted the player-draft exercise for the National Twenty20 Cup at a lavish ceremony in Lahore, the PCB then put off the competition for three months, announcing that a World XI would be visiting Lahore, and that Sri Lanka and West Indies were likely to come in October and November, respectively.
The rescheduling of the National T20 event has put PCB in a fix because for the past few seasons, the period from October to December has been reserved for the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy. And with the Pakistan Super League now preparing for a third season with the induction of Multan Sultans, the high command braces for turbulent times in the weeks to come.
Who says that what is now universally accepted norms for the franchised world of T20 extravaganza would be the correct formula to run the other two formats?
The PCB has embarked upon a mission that will result in a catastrophe.