Rebellions and revolts have not been uncommon in the game of cricket.
The most serious being in 1977-78 when almost all the big names of the game, except that of India, had secretly signed with the Australian tycoon Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket (WSC). It had come about after Packer was refused the rights by the Australian Cricket Board to televise the game through his Channel Nine.
That rebellion, in fact, came as a blessing in disguise for the cricketers of the world who, when back in the fold of their respective board, were able to attract a lot better remuneration than ever before.
The Pakistani cricketers including Asif Iqbal, Imran Khan, Majid Khan, Zaheer Abbas, Mushtaq Mohammad, Javed Miandad and few others were also part of that rebellion as they joined hands with WSC of Packer.
The latest revolt against the board by the West Indian players does come as a huge surprise at a time when the game is not short of money and when sponsors and promoters are dishing out the dosh through every channel.
The contract dispute of the players with their cricket board and complaints of non-payment, which now has resulted in a second string team playing in the first Test against Bangladesh, is quite mind-boggling.
This now reminds me of two major rebellions by the Pakistan players in the middle of a home series.
The first I experienced as a reporter when, in 1976-77, the New Zealand team under Glenn Turner had come to Pakistan for a three-match Test series. The Pakistan team, led by their all-rounder Mushtaq Mohammad, were in dispute then with the then BCCP, led by their president Abdul Hafeez Kardar, the former captain of Pakistan.
On the eve of the second Test in Hyderabad when the demand for increased fee for the players became too loud and the players threatened to boycott the Test, Kardar a strict disciplinarian stepped in strongly with a statement in Evening News of Karachi which appeared with a banner headline 'Cricketers or Mercenaries', condemning the demand of the players.
This, indeed, further angered the players who would not budge from their stance. Kardar gathered eleven more players to play in the Test the
next day to replace the rebels if they failed to take the field.
At about midnight, on the eve of the match, when Kardar appeared for a final chat with Mushtaq, I quietly walked away from the captain's room to offer them privacy. The players later relented and played in the Test the next day.
After the series, which Pakistan won 2-0, Mushtaq was sacked as captain for the Australia-West Indies tour and Intikhab Alam was named in his place. But before the tour started Mushtaq was reinstated as skipper and Kardar himself lost his chair after the government intervened.
Several years later, Pakistan cricket faced anothe revolt on the eve of Sri Lanka's maiden visit to tghis country after gaining Test status.
Seven of the Pakistan players which included Majid Khan, Imran Khan, Zaheer Abbas, Mohsin Khan, Wasim Raja, Iqbal Qasim, Wasim Bari and Sarfraz Nawaz withdrew their services to play for their country under the captaincy of Javed Miandad, whom they had accused of arrogance and attitude problem on the 1981-82 Austrlian tour.
The chairman of the board then, Air Vice-Marshal Nur Khan and his deputy Arif Ali Khan Abbasi, accepted none of this protest that threatened to weaken the Pakistan team.
Nur Khan who, in fact, was instrumental in appointing the 23-year-old Miandad in preference to senior players, then stood his guard to continue with the young captain, asking the rebels to stay at home and watch the game instead of playing for Pakistan. A very strong decision indeed.
Pakistan took the field in the first Test with four debutants — Salim Malik, Saleem Yousuf, Tahir Naqqash and Rashid Khan. Few others among the rebels, like Iqbal Qasim and Wasim Raja, also came back after being told off by their employers.
Pakistan won the first Test in Karachi by 204 runs without the stalwarts but not before Salim Malik made a hundred on debut in the second innings of that game. And not before Saleem Yousuf broke all his front set of teeth owing an exaggerated backlift of the batsman Roy Dias' bat as he attempted to cover drive. Poor Yousuf still carries a false set of dentures from then on.
The majority of the rebels later returned to play the final Test of the series in Lahore where Pakistan secured a crushing innings victory to wrap up the series.
At the end of the series, Miandad resigned from the captaincy as Imran Khan took over the reins for the first time for the England tour that summer. Not since has there been a serious threat by the players against the board.
The West Indian problem, very similar to what happened here nearly three decades ago, may also fizzle out amicably in the end as were the revolts of the players in Pakistan.