The Pakistan cricket team is probably having one of the worst campaigns in the ongoing World Cup right now. Out of six, the men in green barely managed to grab two wins and are sinking down the table every other day. But this awry campaign has done one good thing, it has laid bare the dirty politics that encapsulate the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) currently. From the incompetent leadership to the vile agenda-brewing journalist everything has been exposed. Let’s take a dive into the pressure and politics that have unfolded ever since Babar Azam and his men stepped foot on Indian soil.
Pressure and Politics in Pakistan Cricket
When the Pakistan cricket team lost three matches in a row, it started a frenzy among the board members and fans alike. Many fingers pointed to the captain’s failed skills as a leader while many pin-pointed the mistakes the team was making. Amidst all, the board decided to release a communique that not only urged fans to back their team but low-key threw all the blame for team selection on Babar and chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq.
Following this statement, the team’s media manager was called back the reason for which is still unknown
One would ask why on earth would the chairman call for the captain’s accountability mid-way through the tournament. Couldn’t this have been delayed? Why put those already constrained by the odds against them under more constraint? It really does not make any sense. But as senseless as it was what was about to come can be termed a disaster.
Cutting up on leadership role
With every failure and every change in management, the knives are always pulled out against the 29-year-old’s captaincy. It’s becoming a sort of pattern lately. Every few months, the big guns sit around and discuss if Babar needs to be relieved of his skipper duties.
This time, a few days into the PCB statement, a rumour began to circulate that Sarfaraz Ahmed, former team green captain will most likely be handed the red-ball captaincy. The gossip stemmed when the 36-year-old’s Karachi Whites bagged the Quaid-e-Azam trophy earlier in the month
Even though no confirmations came through the official sources, the rumours soon died down.
Of exposed loop-holes and leaked chats
The next episode in the drama of pressure and politics in Pakistan cricket was the bloodiest of all. Pakistan’s cricket committee while trying to use Babar as a scapegoat got exposed themselves. Turns out the centrally contracted players haven’t been paid their due salaries for the past four months. Ex-cricketer Rashid Latif who made the claims of non-payment also claimed that the national team leader made many calls to the chairman but he refused to answer
To avert gaze from his incompetence, Ashraf arranged for a scandalous interview whereby he leaked Babar’s personal chats with the board’s COO, presented lame excuses for the delayed salaries and rendered the team’s incompetence a conspiracy between the chief selector and player-agent alliance
After the controversial interview, selector Inzamam-ul-Haq stepped down from his position until a free and fair investigation is done into Zaka’s claims. PCB has formed a four-member committee to investigate the matter
PCB: A cricketing mismanagement
To reprehend is easy, to hold self-accountable is difficult. So all PCB and the entire management do is play the blame game. The board stayed quiet when the Asia Cup hosting rights were snatched, no voices were raised on the back-to-back flights during the Cup, exhausted players were sent to play mega World Cup, not a peep about player bonding session cancelled due to delayed visas, the chairman and ex-players heavily criticizing the team for losses, non-payment of salaries, leaked chats, and conspiracy theories. Not to forget how the chairmanship changed thrice in the past one and a half years.
When the foundation is based on lies, corruption, lack of liability and ineptitude, how strong can one expect the building to be? No support just propaganda-driven claims and hollow words has been PCB’s mantra lately. It has become a global embarrassment. And then they expect them to win World Cups!
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