When Shoaib Akhtar recently made a statement that Pakistan cricketers mostly play “against themselves and not against the opposition”, I thought he was spot on in his analysis of the team and its performance.

Incidentally, it now seems that Pakistan cricket is facing almost the same scenario off the field as well. The inadequacies of people at the helm of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in managing the game and their knowledge of it are becoming quite glaring with each passing day. The latest episode relating to the chief selector’s post, which was turned down by former captain Rashid Latif, has raised several serious questions regarding the working of the PCB.

Millions of fans and those who are sincerely keen to see Pakistan cricket regain its lost glory will agree that there has to be something drastically wrong in the current PCB set-up or its work methodology to botch-up the golden opportunity of utilising a cricketing brain of the calibre of Rashid as chief selector. The former Test wicket-keeper, whose upright attitude and unflinching commitment to the game is a benchmark of sorts, not just in Pakistan but across the whole cricketing world, would have been the ideal man for the job. His focus on the game, both domestic and international, and his penchant for merit and talent would have been the ideal tonic for resurrection of the game in the country. Alas, it was not to be.

Going by the media reports, it appears some differences — or perhaps misunderstanding or whatever — between the PCB and Rashid over administrative procedures of his working conditions led to the player declining the chief selector’s job. Will someone please respond would heavens have fallen if the PCB had made some administrative adjustments, which only would have served Pakistan cricket!

Are rules and procedures more important than achieving at the right time concrete targets, key appointments included, which are sure to fetch sustained results for the long-term improvement of Pakistan cricket? If an individual like Rashid, holding a strong and spotless cricketing background, is trustworthy and capable why not deal with him directly instead of involving persons in the PCB set-up, regardless of their designation and experience who for various reasons have not been able to produce results for Pakistan cricket?

And even more seriously: was the matter of Rashid allegedly naming some former players having a tainted past working in the Board became so complex that resulted in Rashid’s refusal to take up the PCB job, because he didn’t want to work alongside those tainted players? Considering the simple rules and well-defined social norms who should have been given preference? Not a very tough query, I guess.

If someone claims that Mr Najam Sethi is being misled by unwanted, negative elements on cricketing affairs this notion, naturally, carries very little weight. One would like to ask the PCB chief, well-versed with media intricacies: does he not possess the ways of gathering, confirming, processing and utilising information to the best possible use? Nine out of ten individuals would respond in affirmative.

I, as any other ardent fan of Pakistan, am concerned as to who would now be our next chief selector because selection of national team at times has been a highly contentious issue in Pakistan, and all this can make the life of any chief selector tough. Only a competent, highly agile and completely impartial individual can succeed in picking the teams on merit and then stand his ground. This person, unlike many others, will never compromise on merit.

In the absence of a capable, unwavering chief selector expecting our outfit to do wonders, particularly in mega international contests, is akin to daydreaming.

Merit is the foremost prerequisite in selection. And who dares disagree that merit was simply murdered in selecting national squad for the recently held World Twenty20. If naming a completely out-of-form Shoaib Malik and a below ordinary Sohail Tanvir in the squad for one of the game’s most prestigious events was not murdering merit then what is it? If discarding an exuberant young all-rounder like Anwar Ali from the World T20 is not murder of merit then what is it? Space doesn’t permit me to underscore some other ‘executions’ of merit in the team selections.

Agreed, the World T20 flop is not the end of the world as the likes of Australia and England also couldn’t make the last-four phase, but the awful way our team just wilted under pressure due to a ridiculously wrong choice of players in the squad and the playing eleven requires some serious and urgent soul searching.

Have our cricket authorities realised what is actually missing in our system — despite we are loaded with raw talent — that has been hindering our team’s way towards success in top-level competitions in recent years?

The question here is not about winning and losing on the field, the question is about making the correct call on choosing appropriate persons in order to improve Pakistan cricket, at the right time.

Rashid’s recent case has exposed, at least to some extent, the loopholes in PCB’s way of managing the matters of highest importance, and it is indeed not an encouraging omen for Pakistan cricket, especially when already there has been no international action at home since 2009 plus our team’s below-average outings in crunch encounters.

There are signals emanating from media reports that the chief selector’s portfolio would be handed to former Test captain Moin Khan, who, if selected for the demanding job, would be receiving his third designation within the last eight months or so after operating as national team manager and then head coach.

And according to latest reports, the PCB has also advertised national coaching and support staff positions as well as that of manager. One hopes the procedures in the selection of these vital slots will feature, above everything, merit, and proper procedures would be followed by the Board authorities so that quality officials are appointed who have no biases of any kind; officials who are given full authority to help lift Pakistan cricket to glory.

One earnestly hopes that Mr Sethi and his team would sit down and at least give their procedures and apparent preferences a rethink so that Rashid-like scenario can be avoided in the future. This act of theirs would certainly benefit Pakistan cricket both on and off the field.