Pakistan credibility reaches breaking point
The corruption scandal that exploded this week is the latest damaging
blow to Pakistan cricket and former players fear it could be the one
that finally crushes the credibility of the sport in the South Asian
nation.
Over the last few years, ball-tampering accusations, doping scandals,
security problems and dressing room intrigues have all contributed to a
volatile cricket culture without severely denting the popularity of the
game among Pakistanis.
However, the British police investigation into allegations that
players Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif took bribes to fix
incidents during the fourth test against England last week looks like
stretching that loyalty to its limits.
“We have one of the worst cricket systems in place,” former test
captain Aamir Sohail told Reuters.
Long-term
“We work without any long term plans and yet we survive in
international cricket only because of the everlasting support of our
passionate fans.”
Sohail and his fellow former captain Javed Miandad fear this latest
scandal might be the straw that breaks the camel’s back for Pakistan’s
millions of cricket fans.
“I think even the people have had enough of this indiscipline in the
team,” Miandad said. “I think this time the board has to show it means
business.”
Political interference
Political analyst Kamran Khan believes Pakistan is so regularly
haunted by controversy largely because of political interference in the
running of the game. The country’s president is chief patron of the
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and has the authority to appoint its
chairman.
“In no country does the president or prime minister appoint someone
to head a sports body,” he said.
“In Pakistan merit is ignored when appointing people to run the board
and they remain unaccountable and that is root cause of the problems we
see in our team.”
In March, the board banned and fined seven players for indiscipline
and misconduct on the Australian tour but political clout as well as
public and government pressure saw five return to the national team
after just three months.
Imran Khan, who led Pakistan to a World Cup triumph in 1992 and is
now a politician, believes the problems of Pakistani society are
reflected in the cricket set-up.
“When the players see corrupt politicians in governance, when they
see people pardoned in financial scams, they think we can also get away
with this,” he said.
“Unfortunately this scandal has come as a demoralising blow for many
Pakistanis, wherever I go people ask me what is going on, it is a
heartbreaking situation.”
Twenty20
Even though security issues have meant no home international cricket
for the last 17 months, thousands of fans still pack the stadiums for
the national Twenty20 tournament.
As further testament to the game’s importance, even reporting of the
floods which have killed more than 1,600 people and made at least six
million homeless has been sidelined by coverage of the cricket scandal
over the last few days.
“Cricket is one thing that still binds together the Pakistani people,
who have to cope regularly with major problems like terrorism, rising
inflation, religious intolerance and now these devastating floods,”
cricket analyst Saad Shafqat added.
Talented players
The country also continues to produce a string of talented players,
among them the trio at the centre of the allegations currently being
investigated.
Butt is the country’s test captain while Amir and Asif make up a
strike bowling partnership that produced remarkable spells in recent
tests against Australia and England.
The scandal has drawn predictably angry reactions from Pakistani
fans, ranging from attacks on donkeys named after the players to the
burning of effigies and throwing rotten vegetables at the team bus.
Songs berating the players and officials and hot-tempered discussions
have dominated the airwaves in Pakistan with one lawmaker demanding the
players be brought home in handcuffs. Pakistan cricket has always been a
passionate affair passionate, however, with victories sparking all-night
celebrations and defeats prompting sometimes violent reactions.
Even if the allegations prove to be unfounded and the fans remained
loyal, the scandal would do nothing to improve Pakistan cricket’s
reputation outside the country, said another former captain.
“It is now a frequent thing to link our players with fixing scandals
and it will become difficult to not only win the people’s confidence and
also convince teams to resume playing in Pakistan,” Zaheer Abbas said.
|