Cricketing activities that started in Lahore with the three-match T20 series between Pakistan and World XI earlier this month ended last week when Pakistan cricket team finished its one-week training camp to leave for the UAE for a two-Test-match series against Sri Lanka starting on Sept 28.

Soon after the World XI left, chief selector Inzamamul Haq announced a training camp for 18 probables at the Gaddafi Stadium. Later, he announced a 16-member team, which lacks seasoned campaigners Younus Khan and Misbahul Haq, who have both retired from international cricket.

It will be the first Test series under the captaincy of newly appointed Test captain Sarfraz Ahmad. During the training camp, a two-day match was also played between Sarfraz Ahmad XI and Asad Shafiq XI.

Meanwhile, PCB’s Anti-Corruption Unit kept the media busy with its proceedings against cricketer Khalid Latif imposing a ban of five years on him for his involvement in a spot-fixing scandal.

In another development, Sharjeel Khan, another suspect in the scandal, also hit headlines by appealing against his punishment of five years. The tribunal announced that half of the ban would be suspended in case the cricketer remained disciplined and followed the code of conduct. But the PCB was unhappy over the decision because there is no such provision in the rules of the anti-corruption unit.

The PCB has appealed against this decision as the cricketer is most likely to face a heavier punishment from another independent tribunal to be formed later.

The Punjab Olympic Association (PbOA) has announced that due to non-cooperation of the Sports Board Punjab (SBP) it is unable to hold the Punjab Games due since 2010. PbOA Secretary Khawaja Idrees said while the standard of sports was declining sharply in the province, the SBP was increasing its expenditure on administration.

It is unfortunate that sports, except for cricket, are in a miserable condition and athletes had nothing to do. But no serious measures were being taken by anyone responsible to put the affairs on the right track.

The sports board was ready to allocate Rs6 million for the Punjab Games, but according to a board official, the PbOA demanded had Rs12 million. Now the board is not ready to provide even the Rs6 million because the funds have lapsed.

In such a situation, both the PbOA and SBP should revisit the entire plan in the best interest of the athletes and ensure the Punjab Games were held.

Last week, Balochistan Olympic Association (BOA) again decided to defer the 33rd National Games, which had been scheduled to be held in Quetta since 2014. Now the games have been rescheduled for Nov 18 to 25 instead of Oct 6 to 12.

The BOA stated that it got funds for the games after a considerable delay and had to start preparations, which could not be completed by Oct 6, especially when Muharram had also started.

Earlier, the association had postponed the games thrice mainly because of the law and order situation in the province.

It is one of the biggest sports galas of the country where 10,000 athletes participate in 30 sports with their coaches and trainers. Pakistan Army and Wapda are closest rivals traditionally in the gala. The inaugural edition of the games was held in 1948 inaugurated by Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

Last week, Sports Board Punjab (SBP) completed training of newly appointed coaches of nine games to appoint them in each district of Punjab to further train coaches and players in their respective areas.

The meagre salary of Rs25,000 for each coach with no facility to gather players and coaches for training may not yield results. The provincial government has also appointed one sports consultant in each district to monitor the activities of these coaches.

Published in Dawn, September 25th, 2017

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