The Pakistan Cricket Board has taken the most daring decision seen in cricket against many of it's star players. The PCB has sacked, banned and fined heavily seven of it's top senior players. Among the players to face the guillotine from PCB are former captains Younus Khan and Mohammad Yousuf - both of whom have been banned for life. The other players to face the sword are Shoaib Malik and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan - who have been banned for a year while Shahid Afridi and the Akmal brothers (Umar and Kamran) are fined Rs. 2-3 million ($24,000-35,000).
The Pakistan Board has ended the careers of two of it's best batsman and looks menacingly down at the others. The PCB committee of inquiry was set up after Pakistan's disastrous tour of Australia and now after the completion of the inquiry, the committee has decided to bring about the worst punishment it can, making it's cricketers as a living model for all those who cross the line. The reasons of the punishment are several, some are known while others are only to be guessed, but one thing is certain that PCB wants to make an example of the cricketers so that in the future everyone will think twice before doing anything.
The decision by PCB is welcomed by me as a good decision. But I also strongly oppose it because of the severity of the penalty imposed. The penalties belted down on the cricketers are abominable.
Pakistan cricket is going through some very turbulent times and in the recent years, things have been going from bad to worse. No team is willing to play in Pakistan, there has been numerous infightings within the team with numerous captains at the helm, making Pakistan a very sorry state for cricket affairs. One thing that the Pakistan team has lacked is discipline and anyone with vague knowledge of Pakistan will tell you that. Since 2007 Pakistan cricket has taken a nose dive with Akthar, Sami testing positive for drugs, disunity in the team with open schisms between Malik, Younus Khan and Yousuf, match-fixing allegations, and numerous other disharmonious activities both in the team and PCB alike.
I agree that something must be done to protect the cricket in Pakistan and ensure that it's players respect and honor the game and the responsibility of playing for Pakistan. PCB has done the exact same thing I mentioned above in a sense, but has taken it to an extreme. The Pakistan cricket board has been an organization that has been ridiculed and unable to function it's own house. Added to the disharmony within the administration is the constant failure of their national team, and this has made the PCB which was like a struggling and wounded cobra suddenly bare it's fangs and bite with venom. Younus, Yousuf, Malik and Afridi must face most of the wrath for the simple reason that they are or were captains of Pakistan. A captain is responsible for the way his players conduct themselves, so the blame inevitably falls on the captains. But what to do if the head itself is not strong and unmannerly?
I welcome the act of the action taken against the players by the PCB but condemn the very actions taken against them. PCB has been very unprofessional like as it does not state the exact reasons for the penalties imposed on the players. How can any punishment be handed down without proper reasons of wrong doing. They have said that the punishments given was due to lack of performance and
indiscipline. But surely one doesn't get banned for life for indiscipline or lack of performance on the field. I feel that PCB is at fault here. You don't go and ban a batsman who has been playing for over a decade and the captain who led Pakistan to the T20 World Cup glory. This is an act showing utter contempt on the players.
The players deserve to be punished but banning them is preposterous and just plain stupidity. It is like whipping a small ten year old boy some good lashes for doing some simple and naughty act. It's just not right what the PCB is handing down as punishments. Due to this, what does the PCB gain? They gain an image that they are doing some major cleanup job within the team, but what about the Board? Aren't the selectors, team managers, support staff, coach and the board members equally responsible? It is they who put a irresponsible leader at helm, and it is they who are called the 'think tank' and are responsible for the devising strategies for wins. So even they failed, but they have been exempted from the blame thus far.
The PCB only gains to lose from this debacle. Which youngster would even want to pursue a career in cricket now in Pakistan. Hard work and talent will earn you a place in the team, but what is the guarantee? How does one expect to make his living as a cricketer if his future is so uncertain? These are some basic question that PCB must ask itself.
In just seven weeks, Pakistan will start a campaign to try and hold onto the title as 'Champions of T20', but I just wonder what kind of team Pakistan will set forth to defend their title. Who will be leading the team then and what will be the morale and thinking of the team? No one knows, but one thing is sure, it will never be the same.
Having said all this, nothing that happens in Pakistan will hardly be a surprise because anything can happen there. And I definitely won't be surprised if all this was a bluff and was taken back by the board. I conclude this article by quoting Ramiz Raja,
"Our main problem was discipline, but barring players, I am not sure, it doesn't look nice to just end the international careers of such talented players. It is surprising, but at the end of the day, the PCB needed to make an example and took a step to clean up the lack of discipline in the team."
