SHAHRYAR M. Khan, a retired career diplomat appointed Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board seems to be groping in the dark as he has so far failed to come up with any set plan to gain the confidence of the crazy cricket fans.
Mr Shahryar has been in the midst of things for almost a fortnight as he must have been taken into confidence by President Pervez Musharraf, patron-in-chief of the Pakistan Cricket Board, before any formal announcements were made.
As things stand, they give a clear signal that perhaps Mr Shahryar did not do his home-work before meeting the President or did not have a clear cut plan in his mind. Though he has had brief courtship with the game, being manager of the team in the World Cup, he must have been aware of the chronic problems that ail Pakistan cricket.
Being a top class bureaucrat and diplomat of no ordinary merit, he should have been quick to present his plan before the President and taking the guideline, if any, from the patron-in-chief. Mr Shahryar should have laid down his plans without any delay. By delaying his policy he is in fact unnecessarily inviting trouble for himself as he must be fully aware that in Pakistan pressure groups always get active whenever there is any symptom of indecision on any issue.
If the new PCB chief thinks that he can get along with the legacy of the past he is sadly mistaken. Some of the men engaged by the former Chairman, Lt Gen (Retd) Tauqir Zia played a leading role in his downfall or created embarrassing situations for him or cornered him by their Darbari acts.
The PCB chief has made just two clear cut announcements so far. One relates to PCB employees who will not be allowed to appear on television and the other puts ban on players to have direct access with the Chairman. The later decision will mean that bureaucratic red tape is being introduced in cricket.
As far the first decision to ban PCB employees role in media, is a just and fair decision. Any PCB man whether he is the Chief Executive or Chairman Selection Committee should not comment on their own selection or choice of the selectors. It amounted to self-criticism or criticism by the management itself of their own policy.
Whether the PCB Chairman likes it or not, he will have to pick his own team to run the board who should have a clean slate. Continuation of Rameez Raja, Chief Executive Officer, or Aamir Sohail as Chairman of the Selection Committee. Or Zakir Khan as director domestic cricket or Mr Zahid Bashir as Chief of Marketing, should all be done away with to immediately bring to an end legacies of the previous regime.
People with fresh ideas, motivation and reputation should be inducted into the Board. Only then the house will be set in order. With these people in office, Mr Shahryar will not be able to implement his own policy or eradicate the evils of the past.
The rebuilding of the team after the World Cup debacle, launched by Tauqir Zia, flopped because of personal ego of the Chairman of the Selection Committee. Can any follower of the game justify the non-inclusion of Shahid Afridi and Imran Nazir in the rebuilding process? It was just a case of favouritism, nepotism and bias. Can anybody with any cricketing mind justify dropping Saqlain Mushtaq, a world class off-spinner, for Shoaib Malik? In the whole post World Cup scenario the ousted management failed to groom any wicket-keeper, using Moin and Rashid Latif card against each other.
After his appointment, Mr Shahryar spent about a week in Islamabad, renewing his old contacts or doing PR with the concerned quarters instead of getting down to serious business keeping in mind that the Indian tour is just round the corner.
Mr Shahryar has diplomacy in his blood and finesse from his three decade career. He had been dealing with the top class intelligentsia at domestic and international level. He definitely has a different wave length. Now he has to deal with a lot which is neither highly educated nor has any equation with his intellect.
He has to deal with people who have vested interests and intriguers who care for their self-interest first and then the country. Being placed in such a complicated situation the only course for him is that he should adopt a strict disciplinary policy that can save him from all sorts of troubles. He should adopt the policy of Nawab of Kalabagh; the only language which sends clear message to one and all and not the Nawab of Bhopal Policy which is in his blood.
