Booting out the Butt

Rising tempers, idiotic mess, chaos, madness, directionless people zigzagging around with no end in sight. No, we are not talking about the state of Pakistan – even though it is much the same. Welcome to Pakistan cricket and all that it entails. Former skipper Shahid Afridi led a debilitated team in the World Cup 2011 and managed to reach the semi-finals despite the odds against us. In spite of this achievement, and a 3-2 ODI win against the West Indies, Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Ijaz Butt unceremoniously removed Afridi from the captaincy. This was probably the last nail in the coffin as far as Afridi was concerned, who suddenly announced his retirement from international cricket. “There is nothing bigger than a man’s respect. I cannot play under a board that does not respect its players. Because of this, under protest, this is a conditional retirement,” said Afridi. This was one of the biggest blows to Pakistani cricket fans who are no strangers to controversy. What ensued was a cat and mouse drama between Afridi and Butt. The PCB revoked Afridi’s No Objection Certificate (NOC) so he was unable to play for Hampshire in the English Twenty20 season. Afridi filed a petition against the PCB, which he later withdrew and appeared before a PCB disciplinary committee. Afridi was fined Rs 4.5 million and got his NOC but is still adamant that he will not take a U-turn and will stick to his decision on international cricket. On the other hand, an irresponsible player like Zulqarnain Haider was only fined a token Rs 500,000 for his shenanigans.

Last year’s spot-fixing scandal left cricket fans all across Pakistan in a state of shock, anger and embarrassment. Pakistan’s stellar performance in the World Cup revived their faith in our cricket team. A demoralised and depressed team blossomed under Afridi’s inspirational leadership. Not seeing Afridi in the Pakistani squad in the future will be painful and a gross injustice. The PCB and particularly Ijaz Butt have ruined our cricket team. It is amazing that in this day and age, the patron of PCB is still the president when all other countries choose their chairmen in a democratic manner. This has to change. Ijaz Butt has to go if we want our cricket team to get back on track. Had Mr Butt had a quiet word with Afridi about his anti-Waqar statement and allowed him to continue as captain, some younger player could in the meantime have been groomed to take over in the future. Now, we are left with a lacklustre 37-year old Misbah-ul-Haq as the team captain and no successor in sight.

Planning is the most significant ingredient missing from Pakistan cricket and the responsibility lies with the PCB chairman. It seems as if Ijaz Butt is suffering from some trauma. In the third Test between West Indies and Pakistan back in 1959, West Indian fast bowler Wesley Hall struck Ijaz Butt’s nose with a rising scorcher. Butt never seemed the same man since. Let’s just blame our present PCB woes on Hall.

(my editorial in Daily Times)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Persecution without reason

Universities all over the world tend to hire people with a sound academic background as they want the best for their students. The Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan did the same when they hired Dr Ghazala Anwar as Deputy Dean of Usul-ud-Din (Islamic jurisprudence) at the women’s campus of International Islamic University (IIU) in Islamabad. Dr Ghazala earned her PhD in philosophy and religious studies from the Temple University (USA) in 1993, with teaching and research interests in Islamic jurisprudence, gender issues, Sufism and sexuality. She was appointed at the IIU under the Foreign Faculty Hiring Programme after her application was reviewed by a Peer Review Committee of scholars. Dr Ghazala Anwar has been part of a movement that has been trying to fight for the just treatment of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Intersex and Questioning (LGBTIQ) Muslims. The movement does not preach to others to become homosexuals, but asks Muslims to be tolerant of these “sexual m...
Read more

The myth of September 6, 1965

Every year we Pakistanis celebrate September 6th with a lot of ‘national fervour’ and laud the armed forces for being ‘victorious’ against the Indian forces back in the 1965 war. The state commemorates the ‘Defence Day’ by holding various ceremonies and special programmes. Milli naghmay (patriotic songs) are aired on the local television channels and radio stations, while the newspapers bring out special supplements to mark the day. This is all very well, but I wonder if our people know that in actuality we are not celebrating a victory. Not only did we lose militarily in 1965 – state propaganda aside – but we also lost our national unity in the process. Forty-two years down the road, ours is a country that is on the verge of dismemberment, again. August 1947 gave birth to two independent states, India and Pakistan. It also gave birth to territorial disputes that haunt both South Asian neighbours to date. Kashmir is one of the main disputed territories. The two infant states fought a ...
Read more

Bitter truth

Sindh Home Minister Dr Zulfiqar Mirza is a loose cannon and, if rubbed the wrong way, will fire away. At the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), Dr Mirza was hit by a barrage of complaints by the city’s industrialists and traders for failing to give them adequate protection. Obviously stung by the criticism, he said that “people cast votes for extortionists; they should now talk to their elected representatives for law and order”. Dr Mirza pinned the blame for the deteriorating law and order situation mostly on the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM). “Dr Imran Farooq was murdered in London, but buses of Pakhtuns were torched in Karachi. Did Asfandyar Wali kill Dr Imran Farooq?” asked Dr Mirza. He went on to allege that when “they [the MQM] want to kill any Pakhtun, Sindhi, Punjabi or Baloch in Karachi, they go about executing their plan methodically”. What Dr Mirza said is politically inappropriate given that the MQM is a coalition partner of the PPP government both at the Cen...
Read more