AS if the bad press that Rashid Latif’s characteristic faux pas caused was not enough, Pakistan cricket got more of it when someone filed a court case against Shoaib Akhtar for having “tarnished Pakistani pride” with his alleged remarks against the likes of Wasim Akram and Waqar Yunis. Clearly, these are not happy times for Pakistan cricket.
While the merits of the case is something that would be decided by the relevant court of law, it was, indeed, unfortunate that Shoaib Akhtar decided to go public with such a flawed case that he built up just to highlight his own talent.
Just to put it in context for those who may have missed out on that statement, Shoaib recently claimed in an interview with The Guardian that he would have had a lot more scalps to his credit had he been playing alongside someone like Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie of Australia. “When I play for Pakistan with Wasim Akram and Waqar Yunis, they are in decline. They were great, but they are not match-winning bowlers any more. So I have to make it all happen on my own.” This is what he has been quoted as having said. Shoaib could have done us a favour by narrating a few incidents when he actually made it all happen on his own. I am sure he would have tried, but must have struggled to come up with some, for there has been precious little to show for all the flamboyance that he has enjoyed in the last few years.
More than being an affront to Pakistani pride, I think the remark is indicative of a sick mentality that is so common among ultra-pampered kids. Shoaib has always been a showman with a lose tongue, and the pampering attitude of the cricket management has only encouraged him, even though I seriously doubt if he needs any encouragement in this regard.
As for the PCB attitude towards Shoaib, there is hardly any need to go beyond the latest episode involving the two entities where the former has given Shoaib special permission to skip the forthcoming series between Pakistan and Bangladesh, and, instead, concentrate on his assignments on the English county circuit. This has again placed him on a pedestal higher than the rest of the players on the circuit who have been asked to report back and make themselves available for national duty. With the kind of preferential treatment he is getting, it is only natural that Shoaib considers himself beyond reproach.
As for the latest antic of Rashid Latif, there is little that can be said about it except that he doesn’t deserve the profile of the national captain. The kind of embarrassment he has caused to his fellow players, the Board and the nation in general is hard to digest.
If his track record is anything to go by, Rashid has always enjoyed his spot in the limelight without bothering about the fact that he plays right into the hands of the anti-Pakistan lobby when he raises the bogey of match-fixing, something Pakistan, and, indeed, the world of cricket, can easily do without. There is no dearth of people who thinks of him as the epitome of moral courage, but, as far as I am concerned, he is a soul who doesn’t know where his tongue is.
To use his tongue before making use of the brain has been Rashid’s forte. Had it not been the case he would not have had to apologize to the Board after committing his faux pas. On its part, the Cricket Board has become a victim of its own decisions, and has to make do with face-saving and damage-control devices, the best of which is to go public saying that the situation has been fully explained to the management and it is satisfied with it. We recently heard it in the context of chief selector Amer Sohail, and then Rashid Latif. Who’s next?
AS if the bad press that Rashid Latif’s characteristic faux pas caused was not enough, Pakistan cricket got more of it when someone filed a court case against Shoaib Akhtar for having “tarnished Pakistani pride” with his alleged remarks against the likes of Wasim Akram and Waqar Yunis. Clearly, these are not happy times for Pakistan cricket.
