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Nobody does farce like Pakistan

03/10/2010 12:31:53 PM

Match-fixing, ball tampering, drugs, infighting, death terrorism and genital warts have all played their part in the farcical soap opera that is the Pakistan cricket side, but the latest ugly turn in the saga of the tortured team could be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

The rift between talented batsmen Mohammad Yousuf and Younus Khan has now seen both players effectively banned for life after a disastrous tour of Australia, where they lost three Tests, five one-day internationals and one Twenty20 match. The PCB has put its foot down on dissent within player ranks and has made an example of Pakistan's two most accomplished players.

The PCB says it is making a decision for the future of Pakistan cricket and that it will help arrest the decline of the game in the passionate cricketing nation. But in sacking the two men best equipped to educate the next generation of Pakistan internationals, is the PCB not cutting off its nose despite its face?

Even before Pakistan travelled to Australia and imploded at every step along the way, cricket in the troubled country was already on the ropes. The terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team bus just over 12 months ago all but ended any hope of international cricket being played on Pakistani soil for the foreseeable future.

It will mean that a generation of young cricket fans will not get to see their heroes play and as a result funding for the development of the game will dry up. The ICC has said it will step in to help negate this, but you have to wonder after this latest episode whether that amounts to dumping weight on a sinking ship.

Player infighting is certainly not new in the Pakistan side. Big personalities have often dominated meaning that the team's potential was not reached because the individual became central and no team ethic existed.

But on the odd occasions when the stars aligned and the various egos all pulled into the same direction, Pakistan cricket has produced something memorable, such as the successes in the 1992 World Cup and the 2009 World Twenty20.

Former firebrand paceman Waqar Younis recently took over coaching the team and immediately stamped himself on the team, saying he wanted an aggressive unified Pakistan. A week into his tenure and the PCB has not only thrown Yousuf and Younus out of the team, but has also banned Rana Naved Ul-Hasan and Shoaib Mailik for a year. All of this was done without consultation with Waqar.

The decision, which reeks of politics, robs the Pakistan Test side of international experience worth over 28,000 runs between the two seniors player banned. It also leaves the side virtually no hope of defending its World Twenty20 title in the Caribbean in May.

Perhaps more astonishingly is that players who arguably acted more appallingly during the tour of Australia got off with mere fines. Kamran Akmal, who single handedly allowed Australia back into the SCG Test with his horrible glovework and then threw a hissy fit when it was suggested he should be replaced, was fined and put on probation, while younger brother Umar, who at one stage feigned injury as a protest over his brother's treatment, received the same treatment.

Shahid Afridi, who partook in the most blatant act of ball tampering in the history of the game when

 
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Comments
Posted by ratee at
11/03/2010 09:19 AM
The most stupid decision that will be taken to court!! They will lose this case in the courts as this has no legal fall back. How can you ban a player when they are just speaking about each other in press. This Board was responsible for all the defeats and is trying to hide behind the so-called accusations which are totally unfounded and over-exaggerated. They are simply trying to shift the blame on lower level of management as happens in Organizations without accountability. They have the power that is why they will seem to be winning in the short-run but in the long run they will lose very bigggggg!!!!
Posted by sheriar at
11/03/2010 10:58 AM
It is a very good ploy to distract the general public from real issues by PCB management as most of them are not qualified enough to be thei and the Senate is asking about their credentials.
Posted by Big Frank at
11/03/2010 11:04 AM
Very sad for the players. They give their all, and the non-playing bureaucrats step in and stuff things up. Change is needed there, not in the playing group.
Posted by ewan yamates at
11/03/2010 04:10 PM
...the phrase is 'cutting off one's nose TO spite one's face'...
Posted by ratee at
12/03/2010 03:17 AM
Only God will take care of these villains in the Board that have destroyed innocent players..Destroying what was left of cricket in that unfortunate country.

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