THROUGH THE COVERS: Fashionable, but not practical
By Zaheer Abbas
EVER since Pakistan Cricket Board had a new chairman, there have been a few things happening on the domestic scene. I have tried to refrain from being judgmental on such happenings simply because Shahrayar Khan has still not come up with a comprehensive plan that he promised in his scattered remarks after taking over from his predecessor. The official line coming out of PCB offices through media reports suggests he will take some more time, and I will prefer to wait and watch rather than being trigger-happy which I have never been. Let’s give the gentleman all the time he wants before putting a reality-check on his words and deeds.
What I want to share with my readers today are some of the comments I made recently at a seminar organized by the PCB to discuss the role of commercial organizations, and the restructuring of the domestic circuit. As for the commercial organizations, their role in promoting the game has been too important and too obvious to be denied. I know it is fashionable to discredit such organizations and forget whatever good they have done to the game in the country, but I am not a subscriber to that line of reasoning.
The simple fact that in most countries the domestic competition involves regional teams, in my view, is not a strong argument to bring about any radical change in our own domestic pattern. For starters, there is absolutely no point in picking up a certain part of any society in isolation. Societies have to be seen in their broader framework as they have their own dynamics and mechanisms. When we allow ourselves to be different from other societies in terms of, say, our political, economic, social and cultural orientation, why do we insist on following their cricket structure alone?
When we take a broader view of our society, the element of unemployment comes out as a relevant statistic that cannot be denied or wished away. Take the commercial organizations out of the equation, and try to figure out what a mess we would be creating for hundreds of cricketers across the country. It will be a chaos that will take years to be sorted out, and will deflect PCB’s attention from far more grave matters.
And, even if the PCB finds some magical potion to manage the resultant chaos, will there be any worthwhile change in the fortunes of Pakistan Cricket? Will regional cricket be able to provide quality cricketers on its own? Is it simply the format and the nomenclature that represent the key to long-term success?
I have heard people say regional cricket will encourage crowd involvement and will thus promote the game. The fact is that cricket is already the most popular sport in the country. The need is not so much to popularize the game, but to take the facilities to the grassroots to assess if some natural talent could be harnessed through this already wide popularity of the game.
As for the issue of crowd involvement, it purely depends on the quality of cricket and the number of star cricketers that a match guarantees to put on offer. It has nothing to do with the corporate or regional basis of the format. In this age of satellite communications when even the first class matches of several countries are telecast every now and then, anyone can see how many spectators the regional format draws in such countries. It is only the presence of superstars that lure in the crowds.
Coming to the issue of domestic restructuring, the only thing that needs to be done is to make the format broadbased and conduct it along simple lines rather than indulging in complexities. Improvement in the level of competition is what is needed than anything else. Sporting pitches and the involvement of renowned cricketers may be the starting point on this road to progress. I strongly support the continuation of the corporate structure at the domestic level because only the corporate sector has the ability to sustain proper teams and has the technical infrastructure to keep the momentum going.
As far as I am concerned, dealing with various issues in isolation is not going to be of much help. The new PCB management would do well to take a broader view of what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, and how it needs to be done.
EVER since Pakistan Cricket Board had a new chairman, there have been a few things happening on the domestic scene. I have tried to refrain from being judgmental on such happenings simply because Shahrayar Khan has still not come up with a comprehensive plan that he promised in his scattered remarks after taking over from his predecessor. The official line coming out of PCB offices through media reports suggests he will take some more time, and I will prefer to wait and watch rather than being trigger-happy which I have never been. Let’s give the gentleman all the time he wants before putting a reality-check on his words and deeds.
