Nothing could be more misguided. Pakistan's cricketers are a talented bunch who deserve our respect and support. Like the rest of us, they too are just trying to make the best of the hand that life has dealt them. Surrounded by an inept administrative infrastructure and challenging national circumstances, their task is not easy.

How sad that the PCB would trigger such a spiteful public reaction by leaking an internal inquiry report to coincide with Pakistan's difficult campaign in the World Twenty20 championship. And sadder still that the contents of that report would be so juvenile and puerile.

This tactic of creating a news cycle diversion is now old hat for our PCB administration. They are desperately trying to deflect responsibility and dump all blame on the players. They tried it earlier when they doled out those whimsical bans and punishment to key players in the build-up to the tournament -- punishments that have gone unexplained to this day. And they tried it again during the T20 World Cup tournament itself, as the team's fortunes lurched like a rollercoaster.

The appropriate public reaction to these developments would be to call the PCB's bluff. In one collective voice we should all tell our cricket administrators that no one is fooled. The PCB has an elaborate setup to manage the players and extract the best of their talent and potential. There is a coach and manager on the ground, and there are executives in the Board. They are all generously compensated, drawing perks and privileges that other Pakistanis can only dream of.

The job description of the PCB's office-bearers is straightforward. They have been hired to further the interests of Pakistan cricket by utilising the enormous natural talent and ability of our players in the most optimal manner possible. The administrators are the ones ultimately responsible for Pakistan cricket. If the team underperforms, accountability must travel up the management hierarchy, ascending all the way to the culprit-in-chief, the chairman himself.

It is startling how even the most well-meaning fans keep falling for the old canard of 'indiscipline' and 'player power'. When will we learn that these are just smoke bombs designed to throw you off the trail that truly matters, i.e. the ineptitude of the PCB? The fact is that talent is always temperamental and erratic. It is the job of the managers to make it deliver what it is genuinely capable of. Pakistan cricket's managers are trying to run away from the hard glare of accountability. We must not let them.

We must also tell Intikhab Alam that this is no way to talk. His comments about the players under his charge are highly personalised, libellous, and not worth repeating. The derogatory language he has used would not be tolerated in any professional sphere. It is shocking that the inquiry panel would permit such statements to become part of the official record. Did no one tell Intikhab to watch his tongue? Could no one have redirected him into saying something constructive? Evidently not, which confirms the rigged nature of the inquiry proceedings.

Perhaps the most tragic fact is that our mechanisms for holding the PCB accountable are dysfunctional. There are parliamentary committees overseeing sports affairs, but they have proved themselves to be of little more than nuisance value. And while there is a great hue and cry against the PCB in the media, it makes little impact because the Board is not organised according to a democratic formula.

For the foreseeable future, Pakistan cricket seems condemned to a life of suffering. Geopolitical realities have conspired against it, and the PCB is determined to perpetuate its own comforts at the expense of the nation's cricketing health. It would not be a stretch to say that the PCB is out to sabotage Pakistan cricket. If the team does well, it is despite the PCB, not because of it.

Solutions exist, but they cannot be easily implemented. There are many fine, capable and sincere individuals in the country who would make ideal cricket administrators. I am talking about seasoned leaders from the private or semi-private sectors who have a depth of cricket understanding, have seen enough of the world to get a wide perspective, and are gifted with intelligence and conscientiousness. Such administrators will be indulgent yet firm in their approach, generous yet judicious in their dealings with the players, and visionary in their initiative and stewardship. Most important of all, they will have the best interests of Pakistan cricket at heart which, at the end of the day, is what truly matters.

The one little snag is that appointing such leaders will require a democratic PCB set-up. The PCB still does not have a workable constitution, which is one of the main reasons that the post of PCB chief keeps falling into the wrong hands. Nevertheless, the status quo cannot be sustained for long. Progress is inevitable, and a day will eventually come when a democratic PCB with grassroots foundation is led by an honest and capable chairman. It may be a few years or many years from now. But there is no doubt that it will happen.