THE central contracts awarded by the Pakistan Cricket Board to certain players have evoked a mixed response from the keen followers of the game in the country. As for the fans on the street — and I keep meeting them every now and then — they want results, and rightly so. As I see it, there can be little argument over the basic decision. However, there can be, and shall be, a whole lot of debate over the mode and manner in which the whole exercise has been conducted.
Being professionals, as they are, it is the right of national cricketers to be paid handsomely. There can be no two opinions about it. I have myself been a professional cricketer and during my time in the spotlight, I always stressed the need to pay the players in accordance with the level of earnings from the game by the board concerned. As such, the PCB decision to go ahead with its planned central contracts shall be considered a step in the right direction.
The life of the modern cricketer is much different from those who carried the same tag, say, a decade ago. It is more demanding and needs to be that much more rewarding for the individuals to feel motivated round the year.
I have heard the argument about representing the country itself being enough gratification, but, realistically speaking, it does not sell. Times have changed, and so should the practices. The social parameters have undergone a sea transformation worldwide in the last couple of decades, and each professional, regardless of their field of activity, hopes to be paid in respectable terms.
For instance, writers and poets used to be among the poor segments of society. The poorer the individual, the better was his output. But no more, writers and poets make handsome money these days. There were times when the heads of states and governments used to get paid nominal salaries. Today, they get paid in lavish terms; so lavish that it sometimes does not match their own skills and performance in office. That being the state of affairs, it is absolutely impractical to expect cricketers to play for the nation without feeling secure about their financial health.
Central contracts for cricketers have become the norm in most countries that have full ICC membership. By awarding such contracts to its players, the PCB has simply followed in the footsteps of the others, and, as I see it, rightly so.
Having said that, the timing of the contracts have left quite a few tongues wagging. What Wasim Bari, the chief selector, has said in the last few days has made a lot of sense. By all counts, the tours to Australia and India will be tough ones; the former because Australia is a much superior side, the latter because of the traditional rivalry between the two sides and, indeed, the two nations. Performances on these two tours would count for much, and there is every likelihood that heads might roll if the team fails to deliver.
The haste on part of the senior players is quite understandable. To them it is like a sound insurance policy arranged just in time against possible hazards ahead. But what was it that made the PCB management go for it? Besides, why did it make seniority, and not performance, the basic criterion for contractual rewards? Furthermore, why was the selection committee kept out of the whole thing? These are pertinent questions that the PCB should answer in the spirit of ensuring transparent conduct within its headquarters.
If the performance over the last couple of years is anything to go by — and it should have been the major yardstick — the players did not deserve to have free money pouring in. Like professionals in every other field of life, the cricketers need to earn their colours and qualify for rewards and promotions. As it has been done, it appears to be a case of PCB having been pushed to the wall by the senior players who have found a wonderful patron in the shape of coach Bob Woolmer, who, in turn, is held in such high esteem by the PCB boss that he can’t even think of turning him down even though the coach’s own performance has been as dismal as that of the team itself.
THE central contracts awarded by the Pakistan Cricket Board to certain players have evoked a mixed response from the keen followers of the game in the country. As for the fans on the street — and I keep meeting them every now and then — they want results, and rightly so. As I see it, there can be little argument over the basic decision. However, there can be, and shall be, a whole lot of debate over the mode and manner in which the whole exercise has been conducted.
