THE recent statement issued by the Pakistan Cricket Board chief, Tauqir Zia, said the attitude adopted by the chief selector and the team management had brought a bad image to Pakistan cricket and had affected the preparations for the forthcoming series against New Zealand. Very true, and full marks to the PCB and its seasoned officials for having reached such an intelligent conclusion.
However, there were many in the media who had warned him at the time of appointing hot-headed individuals that his decision would only be a cause of national embarrassment. But in the absence of any accountability, individuals are free to abuse their positions and play with national honour. That it happens in other fields of life can be no consolation, or a cause to continue behaving like a feudal lord. The feudal lord, by the way, at least owns that much piece of land on which he rules on the basis of his whim and fancy. Tauqir, on the other hand, is merely a head — an unelected and ad hoc one, at that — of a public enterprise.
The PCB statement further said that the coach, the chief selector and the captain have all been reprimanded and warned that they would be sacked if they continued to violate the Board’s code of conduct. “The PCB has decided not to impose any sanctions on them, but they have been warned to abide strictly by the code of conduct, or pack their bags and go home,” said the statement.
The funny thing about the statement is that it is itself a violation of the code of conduct. Come to think of it, the three had already done a lot of damage in public, and the last thing one wanted to happen was for the PCB chief to go public with his own disappointment. He should have exercised better discretion and kept his warnings and reprimands within the boardroom, and should not have used such derogatory remarks in public about the national captain and the coach. If he wants his officials to shut up and do their job, he will have to himself set the standards, which he has so far failed to do.
But a simple violation of the code of conduct was apparently below the dignity of the chief who went a step further and took clear sides in the tussle by saying that the chief selector did not need to consult anyone before announcing the squad. To him, in his own words, it is a waste of time if the chief selector has to run after so many people for the sake of consultations. Running after people? In the 21st century?
Consultation, at least to the mind of a lesser mortal like me, is a professional practice that is generally conducted within the parameters set by an organization, PCB in this case. It does not at all involve running after anyone because once the process has been initiated, those concerned generate their own collective mechanism, and the rough edges, if any, are rounded off with the passage of time, and before anyone realizes, it becomes a smooth affair. But, of course, we are talking of corporate activity conducted in a professional setup, something which has nothing to do with the PCB, which, in turn, is the personal fiefdom of you know who, don’t you?
THE recent statement issued by the Pakistan Cricket Board chief, Tauqir Zia, said the attitude adopted by the chief selector and the team management had brought a bad image to Pakistan cricket and had affected the preparations for the forthcoming series against New Zealand. Very true, and full marks to the PCB and its seasoned officials for having reached such an intelligent conclusion.
