It is a sign of times in our globalised existence that the worth of Pakistan as a Test side was set in stone recently not by what happened in the UAE while losing 0-2 to Sri Lanka, but by something that didn’t happen in South Africa. Interesting times we are living in, which, by the way, doesn’t have anything to do with the Chinese curse: May you live in interesting times!

The decline in our cricketing fortunes has been obvious to anyone following the game with just enough intelligence to outsmart passion that is generally wrapped in zeal and ribboned with patriotism. But even the diehard naysayer will have the occasion to sit up and take notice of the words uttered by Thabang Moroe, the acting chief executive of Cricket South Africa (CSA).

He was addressing media to announce the postponement of the T20 Global League, which had been pencilled in for later this year, owing to lack of incoming revenue streams to sustain the event. The development meant South Africa now has no international activity lined up till the latter half of December. It was in this context that Moroe talked of efforts to have some contingency plan in place to avoid losing out on a window of opportunity in its cricket season.

The word from Cricket South Africa is that an unsponsored domestic tournament is more viable than inviting Pakistan for a Test tour

When asked if CSA would be seeking an international opponent for the purpose, Moroe remarked that the only teams available were Pakistan, West Indies and Zimbabwe, and then went on to confirm that neither of the three was a viable option. CSA does not, in his words, want to put content in and waste money and that all the three teams cost more than they make for CSA.

The board — again, in his words — would not enter into an endeavour which will cost it money. Till last reports came in, CSA was seriously considering moving up the national T20 competition from March-April to fill the slot even though the tournament is unsponsored at present. If you, for some inexplicable reason, are struggling to get the drift, here it is: a domestic unsponsored tournament for CSA is a more viable option than to host Pakistan.

Now let’s extrapolate. The CSA chief was not targeting any country. He was simply explaining to international media the options the board had. In effect, there can be no accusations of bias, to start with. And the main reason why a visiting Pakistan is not viable is because of low rates at which television rights are sold and the lack of spectator interest. Again, no bias there. The man was simply stating a fact conveyed to him by television companies and the past record of ticket sales.

And, why, you think, are television companies not interested and why, you think, the spectators prefer to stay away? It is simply because the lack of competition Pakistan offers at the Test level. If there is no fight on offer, it is not much of a sight to behold. It is the easiest way of keeping spectators away which, in turn, means diminished interest on the part of broadcasting partners. And this, as we have just seen, keeps cricketing boards from taking you as a worthy opponent.

For one thing, the spectators, the broadcasters and the CSA — or any other board for that matter — cannot be accused of hatching some mass-level bizarre conspiracy to destroy Pakistan cricket. It is too outlandish an idea on the wrong side of the border separating sense and nonsense to be considered, even through the magical prism of misplaced patriotism. At another level, it leads to a simple, if somewhat rhetorical, question: who needs to conspire against us when we ourselves do that job with passion, aplomb and gusto?

What we seem to need at this point in these times is a disclaimer. Lest it be misunderstood, we are talking strictly about cricket here. Just don’t get unnecessarily excited by taking it as a narrative on patriotism at large. The context is the key, remember?

So, back to the question we go. Are we — primarily Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and, at least to some extent, the blind believers — not destroying Pakistan cricket by getting too carried away by the unpredictability factor? The euphoria of one win wipes off the embarrassment of many a humiliating defeat. The more unexpected the win, the greater is our euphoria. On the part of the PCB, it makes sense for it is in the interest of the oligarchy running the show at any given point. But what can be a good enough excuse for the millions except that they represent the faceless crowd whose only defined characteristic is its mindlessness?

The odd victory, mind you, comes, if it does, in the shorter versions. The Tests were aptly named because they test your skill and the spectrum of skills. And we struggle big time. And, worse still, we have a lot of oversimplifications at our disposal to keep worries at bay. We were starting a new era. We are in the middle of a build-up. Person ABC had retired. Person XYZ was injured. The playing surface was not quite right. We lost the toss ... it just goes on. We never say we lost because we were just not good enough. We were actually bad. Pathetic.

With this mindset, only the men at the helm can have fun. Cricket will continue to suffer. We, not the world and its various components, are conspiring against us. For once, let’s actually start afresh.

humair.ishtiaq@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, EOS, October 22nd, 2017