Fifty years ago, on September 6, 1965 I was in my last year at university but it seems as if it were yesterday. Things haven’t changed much.

We are daily hearing and watching depressing news of Indian firing and shelling across the Line of Control resulting in military and civilian causalities. The latest incident is the martyrdom of nine Pakistanis including an infant in Kundanpur as a result of cross border firing by the Indians in a cowardly and condemnable act of violence, to put it mildly.

It was therefore amazing and astonishing that the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) should have issued a statement saying that “Given the present circumstance, the chances of a Pakistan-India series look bleak and we have to live with the fact that India are not going to play us [then Mr Chairman let them not; let us go and play with those who are willing and able]. At the same time the Board of Control for Cricket in India [BCCI] hasn’t formally refused us [how gracious of them; they are keeping you dangling on a string], but we can’t wait long amid this uncertainty and have got to have an alternative plan. We will wait for another couple of months [why two months? Is the diplomat in you waiting for the outcome of a possible on the side line meeting in New York?] before forcing our plan B (what plan B?).

“I hope the climate will improve but at the moment it’s more a political tension … the relationship between the countries is complex but cricket shouldn’t be suffering [no, no, only the poor people of Pakistan should suffer at the hands of Indian atrocities], it is after all something that can be a tool to lower the tension.” (Has it or any other sport ever ‘lowered’ tension?)

Why did 65 countries including Pakistan boycott the Moscow Olympics in 1980, and why did 14 East European countries boycott the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics?

It is said keep sports and politics separate — a meaningless and useless cliché. No one boycotted the 1936 Berlin (‘Nazi’) Olympics in spite of movements in USA, UK, France, Sweden, Czechoslovakia and Netherlands to keep away from the games. Forty-nine nations including British India and Afghanistan attended. Hitler snubbed the African-American Jesse Owens who won four gold medals.

Moreover, within three years of these games Germany invaded Poland and the ‘hospitable and peaceable’ sponsor of the games unleashed World War II which resulted in untold sorrow and destruction to mankind.

When politics are kept out of sport, look at the result. Now as Louis Farrakhan would have said, “talk back to me”.

Is it really possible to keep politics out of sports?

With utmost respect to the chairman I submit that he should have been forthright and said that we will revisit our invitation to the Indian team after consultation with the Government of Pakistan, or withdrawn the invitation boldly, fearlessly and authoritatively immediately and not dragged his feet for another two months.

Not once have any of our cricket officials mentioned the permission of the government, or condemned India’s aggressive designs. On the other hand the BCCI always acts holier than thou saying that they are willing to come provided their government gives them permission.

Also does the newly-inducted president of the ICC, who advised Pakistan to give up being “stubborn” and “bend over backwards” and host their series against India in India, have anything to say to his friends in India whose forces daily violate the LOC across his place of birth, Sialkot?

It must be recalled that the president of ICC is a very popular figure in the entire cricketing world especially India. He has been an ‘expert comments person’ on various Indian channels for significant events including the recent ICC World Cup when it was rather odd to see him debating from the Indian side against a Pakistani channel’s team in a programme called Takra.

He has perhaps not read, or understood, the job description of the ICC president. Like the secretary-general of the United Nations, like the chairmen of the senate, like speakers of parliament, the ICC president is expected to be completely neutral; the post is a sinecure reflecting this neutrality.

The president is responsible for ICC matters and not bilateral issues. Let us see what he can do to have the ICC enforce the Decision Review System uniformly across the board.

It is to be seen what role he plays in implementing the ICC policy of there being no political appointees in member boards. The BCCI secretary is an active and important member of the ruling BJP. Sri Lanka’s managing committee is appointed by the government — SL teams are finally approved by the sports minister. I rest my case, and briefly my pen.

Pakistan Super League

It is gratifying to note that at last the Pakistan Super League (PSL) is to be held (even if in Doha) in February next year. To say that this has been a rush job is misleading. It is basically a one-man achievement and has been on the anvil for well over a year.

Najam Sethi the superman of PCB has delivered what is his baby and what many others (including bigwigs like the former ICC head honcho Haroon Lorgat, the business tycoon and ex-PCB chief Zaka Ashraf, former banking wizard Salman Butt) tried to do but failed.

Najam Sethi is intellectual, a deep thinker, a very readable writer with a ‘golden pen’, an articulate and knowledgeable speaker, pleasant and smooth conversationalist, a meticulous planner, astute administrator and a speedy executor. Yet where there are questions; there are bound to be ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’. Perhaps in a desire to have the plans come to fruition rather sooner than expected he has made the announcement a little prematurely.

The announcement leaves a number of questions unanswered. Let us say that we have the headlines, a skeleton, a sketch. It needs filling up. He gave five teams, but left out the sponsors. He gave the platinum, gold and silver categories, but left out the value. He noted many franchises, but avoided the contestants. He mentioned TV rights but did not say that as always with the PCB, it will go to the India-based Ten Sports (why not PTV or Geo?); PCB’s radio rights also go to a Dubai-based Indian organisation (why not Radio Pakistan?).

This is a bit confusing and most analysts, experts and anchors are left confused and doing a lot of guesswork. Let us wait for the details; have patience; the franchisees will emerge before being finalised; the list of players for auction and reserve prices will be unfolded. The venue has left quite a few eyebrows raised. There are many explanations for Doha being given the honour; most of them conjecture.

PSL has unfortunately brought up into the open what seems a friction-ridden rift in the PCB top brass, which seems to have been festering for some time.

Shahryar Khan, like many others, had categorically opined that PSL should be staged in Pakistan. In his now familiar U-turns he recanted this, and toed Sethi’s line stipulating that it should be held offshore. In fact he welcomed the officers and staff of the PSL.

But please also consider what Khan has said. “There is no division in the board,” Shaharyar said, when asked about Sethi’s role in the PCB.

“He is the nominee of the Patron of the Board and heads the [all powerful] executive committee. I am the chairman and all the decisions are taken by me and it’s my discretion to approve or not to approve. There is no interference politically and I don’t think that the prime minister or any other minister is trying to dictate to the board. We are working independently. He [Najam] has his own views and I respect them but we are all on the same line. I am an elected chairman and that is one important thing. If I am elected, naturally the weight of my position is much higher than being a nominee.” (Is it Mr Chairman?)

It is said the PSL and the PCB have a separate set of employees which must make things a bit tedious. I find this difficult to fathom and hope it is not true. However, Shakespeare’s remark in Hamlet when Marcellus says “something is rotten in the state of Denmark …” seems to be in danger of being applicable to the PCB. Though I hope and pray not.

Return of international cricket

So far as international cricket’s return to Pakistani soil is concerned, I fear that this will not happen in the foreseeable future.

The PCB at the moment is not desirous to bring international cricket back to the soil of Pakistan. The matters after the 2009 Lahore tragedy were so shabbily handled that a long-term embargo was self-clamped on international cricket. Had concerted efforts been made immediately following the unfortunate event the situation today would have been different.

However, PCB adopted UAE as their home. Why? There are various theories into which we shall not delve here.

This year at long last the blockade was lifted and Zimbabwe came, played and left. At what cost to PCB we shall never know. It appears the experience was so tedious for the laidback and rusty PCB organisation machinery that they took time to recover from the physical and mental strain. They are just not up to the arduous job any more.

So back to UAE and to outsourcing everything — security, accreditation, ticketing, accommodation, catering, transport, marketing, broadcasting et al, at exorbitant costs. Some PCB employees in the senior cadres, many with families and bag and baggage move house to UAE for weeks (some for multiple trips) sit back, supervise the event and enjoy the salubrious air-conditioned climes and Arabian hospitality.

In addition to this, now the Pakistan domestic encounters beginning with the prestigious PSL will be held in the Qatar capital of Doha. Who knows: maybe Super 8 and the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy will be next. The 90 odd stadia of the homeland can be left to hold horse and cattle shows, marriages, musical concerts, dance competitions, kabbadi tournaments, malakhra, buzkashi, etc.

The naughty three

Now let’s move to the case of the ‘naughty three’ — Amir, Asif, Salman Butt (no, not the PSL chief!). What is all the hullabaloo about? Have not the PCB bosses repeatedly said (and keep saying) that they have maintained zero tolerance towards corruption? So practice what you preach. Ban all three for life. And let them go about doing what they have done since 2010. After all they seem well looked after, living well and having the services of the most prestigious barristers, solicitors and advisers (who I may add do not come for tuppence).

The road map, rehabilitation programme, and the counselling by a former ‘accused’ and ‘reprimanded’ (I am being careful and polite) Justice Qayum report is hogwash and laughable. You expect three convicts to pontificate to innocent kids? Come on, give me a break!

PCB and KCCA

It seems that at the time of filing this piece the unnecessary tension between PCB and Karachi City Cricket Association has been resolved by the resignation of the soft-spoken and suave President of the Karachi Association Professor Ejaz Farooqui. And the point to be noted here is that the PCB’s case was piloted by Najam Sethi, and not by Shahryar Khan. Please do not read too much into this.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, September 6th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play