BY any stretch of imagination the recently concluded Pakistan Super League was a roaring success. It was a fantastic show with all the razzle dazzle and razzmatazz that are attached to a “circus” of this kind. Full marks to Najam Sethi and his troops for a job well done. May the editions to follow be even more spectacular!

The cricket was entertaining, and some brilliant performances were witnessed. (I watched most of it on television as I was not there in person, but those who were fortunate enough to attend have been full of praise for the excellent arrangements). Apart from a minor incident or two, no untoward incident on or off the field was reported. The players both foreign and Pakistani were fully satisfied as were the owners of the five franchises and the sponsors.

So far as the crowds were concerned there were full houses on weekends. I have covered many a match at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, but have never witnessed a brimming full house with thousands unable to get in. The whole atmosphere was awesome. The competition “feared” from the so called Masters Champions League was efficiently neutralized, and that league ended with the proverbial whimper. Well played PSL.

The scene shifted almost immediately to Mirpur, Dhaka in Bangladesh for the Asia Cup which for the first time had been truncated to be a Twenty20 affair. PSL and their team under Najam Sethi exited from the scene — perhaps for a well-deserved rest, and to catch up on their sleep. Enter Shahryar Khan and the PCB’s rusty and confused management. It is now a matter of record that Pakistan’s performance was, to be polite, absolutely pathetic and disastrous.

It lacked professionalism and administrative skills. The selection of the team was erratic and illogical; the coach was in Australia, the batting coach perhaps in Harare, the other support staff either in Lahore or elsewhere, the chief selector was at the PSL as Technical Delegate and radio commentator until the Chairman heard him and was unhappy whereupon he withdrew from this assignment; the bowling coach was involved with one of the franchises; the other selectors were consulted over the telephone.

To cut a long story short the selected team was “amended” and three players were chopped and replaced. One of the members of a PSL team was appointed as the bowling coach for the Asia Cup and ICC World Twenty20 only. Some wise guy got the idea that Vivian Richards who had been hired as “mentor” by Nadeem Omar for his Quetta Gladiators for, I am sure, a sizeable sum, should be “roped in “ as mentor of the Pakistan team. Shahryar (I hope it was not his idea) should have rejected this proposal rather than suffer the ignominy of Richards rejecting the offer of a meager amount offered by the PCB.

Shahid Afridi led a side into the Asia Cup which was neither gelled nor united. The team management, the coach, the captain and the players were not on the same page. It was strange to hear the coach and the batting coach moaning that the players “begged for advice; their reply was concise, they listened very nicely but they went out and did precisely what they wanted…..” — i.e hit out and got out.

The Chairman went a step further and advised the batsmen to learn batting from Virat Kohli. The results speak for themselves. Difficult win against a weak UAE side, defeats against Bangladesh and India; and exit from the Asia Cup. Finally a consolation win against a weak Sri Lanka side.

The seasoned diplomat in the Chairman left him, and he went almost ballistic. Before the end of the Cup he appointed an inquiry commission comprising Misbah, Younis (both current Pakistan players to judge their peers), the COO, a member of the Council and a former Chairman of Selectors to find out what happened.

We have had such committees in 1999, 2003, 2007, 2015 and after other similar disasters. None of the reports have seen the light of day. The inquiry will take at least a few months – interviews with the manager, coaches, security officer, media manager, captain and players and maybe anyone else willing to offer evidence will be required. All this will take at least three months by which time the team would have gone and come back from England. Such committees are what Shakespeare called “a tale…….full of sound and fury signifying nothing.”

As Lewis Carroll put it, “The time has come the Walrus said to talk of many things…….” Yes it is time to dissolve the selection committee, to change the coaches, the support staff, to change the shorter formats’ captains and above all change the Chairman.

As Lord Tennyson put it “The old order changeth yielding place to new / And God fulfills himself in many ways ……..” The time has come that the “old order” Shahryar Khan (who will celebrate his 82nd birth anniversary on 19th March) should gracefully stand down and be replaced by Najam Sethi who has proved his worth and mettle with the success of PSL.

Najam can bring in an overhauled team and fresh thinking and take bold decisions. The PCB and PSL will be combined under him with no duplication and this will be more effective administratively and financially.

Published in Dawn, March 5th, 2016