November 13, 2007	Tuesday	Ziqa’ad 02, 1428

LAHORE, Nov 12: The eight-year ad hocism in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) finally ended with the implementation of the new constitution this month, raising hope that the board will now be run on democratic lines from hereon.

After the first meeting of the constitutionally formed Governing Board, one should expect a lot of good things to happen that may put the PCB back on track, administratively.

It was in 1999 that President General Pervez Musharraf imposed ad hoc on the PCB. That effectively nullified all the checks and balances in the running of the board for then chairman Lt. Gen. (retd.) Tauqir Zia and later for Shaharyar M Khan.

One-man show often results in goof-ups and blunders and the past eight years of PCB ad hocism are replete with such examples. Both Tauqir and Shaharyar enjoyed their tenures of three years each but never really made serious efforts to restore the constitution.

While millions of rupees were distributed among their favourite officials by the two chairmen in eyewash attempts to formalise various drafts of the constitution, the graph of Pakistan cricket plummeted like never before.

Besides successive humiliation in the 2003 and 2007 World Cups where Pakistan bowed out of the preliminary rounds, the country’s cricketing scene remained dotted with some of the most harrowing controversies ever witnessed in the 56 years of game’s history. That included doping scandals, coach murder row, on-field brawls, ugly resignations and ignominious defeats on home and away tours by the team.

And while there was no significant achievement on the field, the staff strength continued to grow. In the pre ad hoc days in 1999, the strength of the PCB staff was around 30. However, in the following eight years it multiplied several times to rise upto 450.

The incumbent PCB chairman, Dr Nasim Ashraf, after assuming the charge on Oct 7, 2006, vowed to implement the new constitution within the first 45 days of his tenure.

That did not happen but the moment finally came after Dr Ashraf’s one full year in the office during which he faced a lot of criticism from the former cricketers, the associations and the Senate and the National Assembly standing committees on sports.

Although Pakistan has suffered several setbacks during Dr Ashraf’s tenure as well, the restoration of the constitution is indeed a huge achievement by him.

The first meeting of the Governing Board was held in Lahore on Nov 9. and was attended by all the 15 members. Headed by chairman Nasim Ashraf, the board includes six technocrats namely Mueen Afzal, Ali Raza, Munir Hafeez, Aslam Sanjarani, Farooq Rehmatullah, Justice Ijaz Yousuf besides five heads of the regional associations including Shakil Shaikh (Islamabad), Aamir Hayat Rokhari (Lahore), Dr Mohammad Ali Shah (Karachi), Mian Mohammad Munir (Multan), Wasal Durrani (Peshawar)and two former Test cricketers Ijaz Butt and Intikhab Alam. Former Habib Bank spinner Abdul Raquib represents the departments affiliated with the PCB.

One knows that the Governing Board has a huge responsibility to fulfil, that of turning the PCB into an efficient cricketing body which can take Pakistan cricket to dizzying heights.

After the sad downfall in hockey and squash, the entire nation has its hopes pinned on the game of cricket. To turn the PCB into a high-profile institution, it is the duty of every member of the Governing Board to make valuable contribution, set aside individual interests and get rid of any illegal practices in the PCB.

Mueen Afzal, Ali Raza, Ijaz Butt, Munir Hafeez and Farooq Rehmatullah, all have great experience of running massive institutions in the country and one sincerely hope they will ensure flawless performance from the country’s biggest, most influential sports body.