I AM not too sure what to say on the ongoing circus of shocking selections and equally shocking reversal of decisions that the Pakistan Cricket Board, its ad hoc chief Tauqir Zia and its Chief Selector Amir Sohail continue to conduct in full public view. It is laughable. Or, perhaps, it is pitiable.
I wanted to start off with a laughter, but my editor said it was a time to cry, not to laugh, and if I start off with a laughter, I will be playing with the sentiments of an entire nation. So, I have avoided that temptation, and leave it to you, my dear readers, to decide what you want to do. Let us take a quick look at what has happened in the last few days.
In shedding further light on the nexus between the two chiefs — the ad hoc chief and the chief selector — Junaid Zia, who was not even in the list of 23 probables, was named in the national squad. When that happened, I thought the proverbial cat was finally out of the bag, and felt relieved in the knowledge that everything, all the controversies that had preceded the announcement of the team — the verbal clashes between PCB officials of all hues and denominations, the subsequent warning by the PCB supremo, and his public stance in favour of his crony chief selector — at least had a logical explanation.
The explanation offered by the chief selector was so funny that I would like to quote it verbatim, as it appeared in the newspapers: “Junaid is in the squad after the captain and the coach demanded his inclusion,” he said. Either the coach and the captain had been chastened enough by Tauqir to ‘demand’ the inclusion of his son in the squad, or the chief selector was playing hooky.
In the next part of his statement in which he tried to explain why, if he was such an indispensable player, Junaid was not named among the probables, the chief selector betrayed the lack of confidence he suffers from in professional affairs. He said it was not done because Junaid’s selection during the Bangladesh series had been publicly criticized, and he had to be sidelined during the South Africa series.
My point is that even if someone is taking a debatable, or even a wrong, decision — for we are all human beings and prone to making mistakes — if there is a sincerity of purpose, one would stick to his stand, and not bow to mere public pressure. But sincerity of purpose is exactly what is missing from the armoury of the chief selector, and it was exposed yet once again when he reversed his decision the very next day.
Again the reason put forward for the reversal of decision was laughable (or was it pitiable?) A PCB statement said the selectors “accepted a request” from Junaid, switched him to the Pakistan A squad that will tour India soon, and instead recalled Umer Gul to the national squad. The chief selector will do well to keep a record of all the forthcoming exams that his chief’s son is scheduled to take in the future. At least that would spare him some blushes in the future.
The general perception among the followers of the game, however, is that the chief selector’s only fault is his misplaced zeal to satisfy his boss, who, in turn, wants to pursue a very private agenda. Together, they keep trying to feel the nerve of the media by first making announcements and then, finding it too tough, let the boss intervene and overturn the decision of his hand-in-glove chief selector. The effort will surely continue for as long as the nexus is allowed to last. Some kind of intervention — divine, if not human — seems to be our only hope.
I AM not too sure what to say on the ongoing circus of shocking selections and equally shocking reversal of decisions that the Pakistan Cricket Board, its ad hoc chief Tauqir Zia and its Chief Selector Amir Sohail continue to conduct in full public view. It is laughable. Or, perhaps, it is pitiable.
