THE inquiry commission set up the PCB to investigate the spate of injuries that hit Pakistan during the series with India has provoked mixed public response, with some vocally against the very idea, and others equally adamant that the guilty should be punished.
As I see it, the Board is not entirely wrong in doing what it has done. The flaw lies in the fact that, like most other things, the Board officials decided to do it in full public view and some officials even jumping the gun while saying in public what steps would be taken if the inquiry committee reached a certain conclusion.
This tendency of PCB officials has always amazed me. I really fail to understand what stopped them from going ahead with it somewhat more discreetly, and announcing the decision only when, and if it all, there was something to be announced. Otherwise they could have simply filed the proceedings. Thinking in public, debating in public and discussing in public what might or might not be. This is hardly the stuff of professional management. And this most certainly works against the interest of Pakistan cricket, for it gets unduly bad press worldwide.
The inquiry commission is holding its proceedings as I write these lines, and may well have given its verdict by the time you get to read them. Even on its proceedings, there have been much speculation in professional circles, with many arguing that it is a medical impossibility to say with any degree of uncertainty if someone was really in pain or was simply faking injury as long ago as a couple of weeks. The controversy will continue to simmer even after the verdict is announced by the commission. All this could have been avoided if a bit more discretion had been exercized by those concerned.
The team’s shocking performance as well as such indiscretion on the part of the PCB appear to have together worked towards alienating even the diehard cricket fans in the country. This can be gauged by the muted response of the general public towards the loss of both the One Day as well as the Test series against India.
If those at the helm of affairs decide to take it as a mature response, they will be sadly mistaken. It is nothing but a sign of alienation, and, needless to say, it is a dangerous thing to happen, and should not be taken lightly. We all have the example of hockey to learn our lessons from.
The public frenzy used to be as high, if not higher, as was for cricket in its good days. Once results, trophies and titles stopped coming our way, it was not long before people found something else to get emotional about.
Things have come to such a pass where no one cares to even follow the fortunes of the national side. A loss is taken for granted, and a win — whenever it comes our way — is taken to the be the proverbial flash in the pan. No one mourns a pathetic performance; no one gets excited when the team fares better. This is the natural course of alienation.
My fear is that if the squabbling does not come a quick end, and the team does not deliver on a sustained basis, cricket will follow the same unfortunate path that is now the fate of the game of hockey. We will all do well to play our due role in turning the tide.
And, before I sign off for the day, let me offer my condolences to Wasim Raja and Ramiz Raja on the death of their father. I spoke to Ramiz a few days ago and found him to down in spirits which is but natural, for the loss of one’s father is a tragic event in life, and a sort of reminder of that eventuality called death.
THE inquiry commission set up the PCB to investigate the spate of injuries that hit Pakistan during the series with India has provoked mixed public response, with some vocally against the very idea, and others equally adamant that the guilty should be punished.
