When sport is a pawn in the hands of powerful adversaries, there is a
dangerous game at play. One such game is being played on Pakistan turf –
ironically the only play possible on Pakistan soil in recent years. On
the opposite sides of the chess board are the Pakistan government and
the judiciary. The pawns on the board represent the fate of Pakistan
cricket, left hanging once more by the seemingly frivolous but
deceptively treacherous moves on both sides of the board. A hung verdict
though is not in Pakistan’s interests.
At the moment it is a coin toss as to who would become the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman and one could place a wager on how long he would last before the decision is rescinded by either the Pakistan government or the judiciary depending on who one or the other has favoured. July saw a fresh round of circus that ensured that Pakistan cricket cannot be taken seriously unless the political establishment and the judiciary get their act together and work in the interests of restoring a sense of sanity and security about the functioning of the cricket board in the country.
To emphasis the gravity of the situation further, that Najam Sethi was removed and reinstated to the post of the PCB chairman for a third time while Jamshed Ali Shah served as the PCB chairman for barely a few hours without a written confirmation to his post says it all. Incidentally Sethi was elected only late last month as the fifth member and Pakistan’s representative to the newly formed International Cricket Council Executive Committee that includes permanent members in the form of India, Australia and England and will advise on matters pertaining to ethics, anti-corruption, constitutional matters pertaining to administration amongst other portfolios. It is a lamentable state of affairs really that once again news about Pakistan cricket is not dominated by headlines about the prowess of their team or their exploits but rather of the ongoing travail of feuding factions and powerful players off the field throwing Pakistan’s cricket administration into virtually insurmountable chaos. The churn in Pakistan’s cricket administration is appalling to say the least although it has to be said in the same breath that it is not altogether a new phenomenon given the shenanigans of the past fifteen months. The current circus has been meandering without meaning, making it one of the longest, most uncertain times when an administration has struggled to put one foot in front of the other, an amicable solution nowhere in sight.
That Pakistan cricket is in the midst of a crisis would be a gross understatement. That would also be a statement that would not surprise many and therefore, not bring forth an air of indignation. However, Pakistan cricket’s problems have been compounded by the deepening crisis within its administrative circles. Rarely has Pakistan cricket enjoyed calm in its domain, but the latest round of drama seems to suggest that there is no immediate solution to the crisis and cricket must suffer as a result of the deepening divide and bitter politicking between the government and the judiciary which find themselves at loggerheads with each other on the subject of the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman, undermining Pakistan’s status at the world body level.
One would be forgiven for losing count of the number of times the position of the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman has exchanged hands between Zaka Ashraf and Najam Sethi. That would be precisely five times, making the former judge, Jamshed Ali Shah, the third man in the past year and a half to occupy the chair if only for a brief period that lasted about a day. Incidentally Shah was to hold elections in the period of one month to appoint the next official man for the top job. On the guise of restructuring the constitution towards a more democratic election-oriented set up, changing decrees, whims rather, from the Pakistan governments and the judicial bodies have virtually reduced the top Pakistan cricket job to a mockery, no less.
The events of the 10th and 11th July would have brought on another dizzying spell for the faint hearted following the functioning of the Pakistan Cricket Board. Najam Sethi found himself back in his role as the Pakistan Cricket Board less than twenty-four hours after he was ousted by the government of Pakistan. Sethi himself is be no stranger to controversy, finding himself removed from his post for a third time – in October last year for failing to hold elections to find the next chairman only to be reinstated again as has been the case – in the long standing game of musical chairs that has become Pakistan cricket’s top post. The Supreme Court while reinstating Sethi, a former journalist, is still hearing the matter of the removal of Zaka Ashraf as the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman and his subsequent reinstatement by the Islamabad High Court that initially removed Ashraf that precipitated the crisis dating back nearly a year and a half, signaling a tenuous time as Pakistan cricket has been put through a rigmarole of floundering plans and confounding theories to back up those plans. Sethi himself was serving Pakistan cricket in a provisional capacity as the chairman with a view to shaping a new, more democratic constitution paving the way once more for an elected chairman’s position in collusion with the directives from the Prime Minister of the country, Nawaz Sharif.
Sethis’ predecessor, Zaka Ashraf, found himself out of favour within twenty days of his four year appointment as the first elected Pakistan Cricket Board chairman by the Pakistan president, Asif Ali Zardari, following amendments the ICC level to comply with government non-interference in cricket’s member boards which has since been questioned and set aside by Pakistan’s version. The Islamabad High Court rejected Ashraf’s reelection as dubious on the 28th of May, 2013. Najam Sethi was confirmed to the post of chairman after occupying the interim position between June and October after the patronage of the Pakistan cricket board fell into the hands of the Pakistan Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, following amendments to the national constitution. However, the start of 2014 and the month of May saw hectic reshuffling again between the courts and the Pakistan government that saw Ashraf and Sethi rejected and reinstated twice respectively. The same Islamabad High Court that once denied Ashraf the chairman’s position reinstated him ruling that it found no valid ground for the government to oust Ashraf from the job. The July story was then merely an extension of the events that have troubled Pakistan for the past fifteen months.
Notwithstanding the drama revolving around the chairman’s chair, Pakistan cricket has already had several headaches to contend with. Chief amongst these has been the fact that the home turf has been starved of hosting rights as far as bilateral series are concerned and even missed out on co-hosting the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2011 alongside their sub continent neighbours – India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. What this has translated into has chiefly been a state of near bankruptcy where Pakistan cricket has had to operate on the benevolence of the ICC that decided to award Pakistan a fair share of the revenue despite being unable to host the prestigious ICC event.
The Pakistan cricket team has had to call the United Arab Emirates their home since 2009 when the visiting Sri Lankans faced the wrath of a terrorist attack on their tour bus on the way to the Gaddafi stadium in Lahore. The attack was the final straw amongst international circles as Sri Lanka were merely being neighbourly in acceding to tour Pakistan after India pulled out following the 26/11 terrorist attacks in Mumbai. Alienated by the rest of the cricket world and their cricketers deprived of making a decent pay package after being denied participation in the Indian Premier League after playing only the first edition of India’s premier Twenty20 tournament in 2008, Pakistan plunged in a dark hole that saw little light at the end of tunnel.
To make matters worse, three of Pakistan’s cricketers including the then captain, Salman Butt, were found guilty of spot fixing during the Test series in England in 2010, which meant subsequent bans on Butt and fast bowlers, Mohammad Asif and the young and upcoming Mohammad Aamer. Pakistan has since desperately tried to lower the degree of ban on the young, tear away bowler who is currently serving a five year ban and is expected to plead the young man’s case once more in a year’s time, an unprecedented petition and amendment being sought.
Pakistan has had to play its bargaining chip at the ICC table, eventually taking their plea to the new consortium of the ‘big three’ that includes the respective cricket boards of India, England and Australia whom Pakistan has accused in the past of undermining its cricket status in international circles. Ultimately Pakistan’s vote was pledged in favour of the ICC’s restructuring by signing Memorandum of Understanding with other Test playing nations to ensure home Tests to earn revenue that would bring Pakistan cricket back from the brink of bankruptcy. The estimated value: Rupees thirty billion or three hundred million dollars. That is huge money at stake which means Pakistan needs a degree of political stability in their own country before other boards are able to keep their promises pending their own government clearances about the security in the region, which has been the bone of contention in the past five years. Given the current political climate, the almost ludicrous flux of personnel makes it hard to see how the next ICC President in 2015 will come from Pakistan as has been generally agreed upon and it would even be harder to find acceptance from the international world when Pakistan continues to
undermine its own processes, people and policies.
Important Date:-
PCB Chairman’s Musical Chairs:
8 May, 2013: Zaka Ashraf officially elected although appointed PCB Chairman in October, 2011
28 May 2013: Islamabad rejects Ashraf’s election bid
23 June, 2013: Najam Sethi is interim PCB Chairman by Sharif’s appointment
15 January 2014: Ashraf reinstated by court
10 February 2014: Ashraf removed by Sharif, Sethi back as chairman
17 May 2014: Ashraf reinstated to post by Islamabad High Court
21 May, 2014: Ashraf’s appointment stayed by Supreme Court of Pakistan, Sethi back
28 June, 2014: Najam Sethi elected as Pakistan representative to ICC Executive Committee
10 July, 2014: Sethi removed; Sharif appoints Jamshed Ali Shah to post to hold election for new chairman
11 July 2014: Sethi reinstated by Supreme Court of Pakistan as PCB Chairman
More Information On this Topic than You please Visit our website-https://www.crictoday.com
At the moment it is a coin toss as to who would become the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman and one could place a wager on how long he would last before the decision is rescinded by either the Pakistan government or the judiciary depending on who one or the other has favoured. July saw a fresh round of circus that ensured that Pakistan cricket cannot be taken seriously unless the political establishment and the judiciary get their act together and work in the interests of restoring a sense of sanity and security about the functioning of the cricket board in the country.
To emphasis the gravity of the situation further, that Najam Sethi was removed and reinstated to the post of the PCB chairman for a third time while Jamshed Ali Shah served as the PCB chairman for barely a few hours without a written confirmation to his post says it all. Incidentally Sethi was elected only late last month as the fifth member and Pakistan’s representative to the newly formed International Cricket Council Executive Committee that includes permanent members in the form of India, Australia and England and will advise on matters pertaining to ethics, anti-corruption, constitutional matters pertaining to administration amongst other portfolios. It is a lamentable state of affairs really that once again news about Pakistan cricket is not dominated by headlines about the prowess of their team or their exploits but rather of the ongoing travail of feuding factions and powerful players off the field throwing Pakistan’s cricket administration into virtually insurmountable chaos. The churn in Pakistan’s cricket administration is appalling to say the least although it has to be said in the same breath that it is not altogether a new phenomenon given the shenanigans of the past fifteen months. The current circus has been meandering without meaning, making it one of the longest, most uncertain times when an administration has struggled to put one foot in front of the other, an amicable solution nowhere in sight.
That Pakistan cricket is in the midst of a crisis would be a gross understatement. That would also be a statement that would not surprise many and therefore, not bring forth an air of indignation. However, Pakistan cricket’s problems have been compounded by the deepening crisis within its administrative circles. Rarely has Pakistan cricket enjoyed calm in its domain, but the latest round of drama seems to suggest that there is no immediate solution to the crisis and cricket must suffer as a result of the deepening divide and bitter politicking between the government and the judiciary which find themselves at loggerheads with each other on the subject of the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman, undermining Pakistan’s status at the world body level.
One would be forgiven for losing count of the number of times the position of the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman has exchanged hands between Zaka Ashraf and Najam Sethi. That would be precisely five times, making the former judge, Jamshed Ali Shah, the third man in the past year and a half to occupy the chair if only for a brief period that lasted about a day. Incidentally Shah was to hold elections in the period of one month to appoint the next official man for the top job. On the guise of restructuring the constitution towards a more democratic election-oriented set up, changing decrees, whims rather, from the Pakistan governments and the judicial bodies have virtually reduced the top Pakistan cricket job to a mockery, no less.
The events of the 10th and 11th July would have brought on another dizzying spell for the faint hearted following the functioning of the Pakistan Cricket Board. Najam Sethi found himself back in his role as the Pakistan Cricket Board less than twenty-four hours after he was ousted by the government of Pakistan. Sethi himself is be no stranger to controversy, finding himself removed from his post for a third time – in October last year for failing to hold elections to find the next chairman only to be reinstated again as has been the case – in the long standing game of musical chairs that has become Pakistan cricket’s top post. The Supreme Court while reinstating Sethi, a former journalist, is still hearing the matter of the removal of Zaka Ashraf as the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman and his subsequent reinstatement by the Islamabad High Court that initially removed Ashraf that precipitated the crisis dating back nearly a year and a half, signaling a tenuous time as Pakistan cricket has been put through a rigmarole of floundering plans and confounding theories to back up those plans. Sethi himself was serving Pakistan cricket in a provisional capacity as the chairman with a view to shaping a new, more democratic constitution paving the way once more for an elected chairman’s position in collusion with the directives from the Prime Minister of the country, Nawaz Sharif.
Sethis’ predecessor, Zaka Ashraf, found himself out of favour within twenty days of his four year appointment as the first elected Pakistan Cricket Board chairman by the Pakistan president, Asif Ali Zardari, following amendments the ICC level to comply with government non-interference in cricket’s member boards which has since been questioned and set aside by Pakistan’s version. The Islamabad High Court rejected Ashraf’s reelection as dubious on the 28th of May, 2013. Najam Sethi was confirmed to the post of chairman after occupying the interim position between June and October after the patronage of the Pakistan cricket board fell into the hands of the Pakistan Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, following amendments to the national constitution. However, the start of 2014 and the month of May saw hectic reshuffling again between the courts and the Pakistan government that saw Ashraf and Sethi rejected and reinstated twice respectively. The same Islamabad High Court that once denied Ashraf the chairman’s position reinstated him ruling that it found no valid ground for the government to oust Ashraf from the job. The July story was then merely an extension of the events that have troubled Pakistan for the past fifteen months.
Notwithstanding the drama revolving around the chairman’s chair, Pakistan cricket has already had several headaches to contend with. Chief amongst these has been the fact that the home turf has been starved of hosting rights as far as bilateral series are concerned and even missed out on co-hosting the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2011 alongside their sub continent neighbours – India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. What this has translated into has chiefly been a state of near bankruptcy where Pakistan cricket has had to operate on the benevolence of the ICC that decided to award Pakistan a fair share of the revenue despite being unable to host the prestigious ICC event.
The Pakistan cricket team has had to call the United Arab Emirates their home since 2009 when the visiting Sri Lankans faced the wrath of a terrorist attack on their tour bus on the way to the Gaddafi stadium in Lahore. The attack was the final straw amongst international circles as Sri Lanka were merely being neighbourly in acceding to tour Pakistan after India pulled out following the 26/11 terrorist attacks in Mumbai. Alienated by the rest of the cricket world and their cricketers deprived of making a decent pay package after being denied participation in the Indian Premier League after playing only the first edition of India’s premier Twenty20 tournament in 2008, Pakistan plunged in a dark hole that saw little light at the end of tunnel.
To make matters worse, three of Pakistan’s cricketers including the then captain, Salman Butt, were found guilty of spot fixing during the Test series in England in 2010, which meant subsequent bans on Butt and fast bowlers, Mohammad Asif and the young and upcoming Mohammad Aamer. Pakistan has since desperately tried to lower the degree of ban on the young, tear away bowler who is currently serving a five year ban and is expected to plead the young man’s case once more in a year’s time, an unprecedented petition and amendment being sought.
Pakistan has had to play its bargaining chip at the ICC table, eventually taking their plea to the new consortium of the ‘big three’ that includes the respective cricket boards of India, England and Australia whom Pakistan has accused in the past of undermining its cricket status in international circles. Ultimately Pakistan’s vote was pledged in favour of the ICC’s restructuring by signing Memorandum of Understanding with other Test playing nations to ensure home Tests to earn revenue that would bring Pakistan cricket back from the brink of bankruptcy. The estimated value: Rupees thirty billion or three hundred million dollars. That is huge money at stake which means Pakistan needs a degree of political stability in their own country before other boards are able to keep their promises pending their own government clearances about the security in the region, which has been the bone of contention in the past five years. Given the current political climate, the almost ludicrous flux of personnel makes it hard to see how the next ICC President in 2015 will come from Pakistan as has been generally agreed upon and it would even be harder to find acceptance from the international world when Pakistan continues to
undermine its own processes, people and policies.
Important Date:-
PCB Chairman’s Musical Chairs:
8 May, 2013: Zaka Ashraf officially elected although appointed PCB Chairman in October, 2011
28 May 2013: Islamabad rejects Ashraf’s election bid
23 June, 2013: Najam Sethi is interim PCB Chairman by Sharif’s appointment
15 January 2014: Ashraf reinstated by court
10 February 2014: Ashraf removed by Sharif, Sethi back as chairman
17 May 2014: Ashraf reinstated to post by Islamabad High Court
21 May, 2014: Ashraf’s appointment stayed by Supreme Court of Pakistan, Sethi back
28 June, 2014: Najam Sethi elected as Pakistan representative to ICC Executive Committee
10 July, 2014: Sethi removed; Sharif appoints Jamshed Ali Shah to post to hold election for new chairman
11 July 2014: Sethi reinstated by Supreme Court of Pakistan as PCB Chairman
More Information On this Topic than You please Visit our website-https://www.crictoday.com
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