Loud Thinking

Archive for November, 2016

 

2nd Test Day 2.
NZ 271. Pak 76/5.

It looks our most expensively hired Head Coach is hell bent on proving his sheer incompetence, in selecting the correct eleven.
Here, the question arises who and at which stage from the PCB will intervene, to stem the rot, after very very unwisely, the PCB succumbed to the demand of Mr. Micky Arthur (at time of his appointment) that only he and the captain will have the authority to decide the playing eleven and manager will have no say in this regard. As far as I remember, Mr. Micky Arthur has not played a SINGLE Test match in his life.
Under the circumstances, one fails to understand why a highly experienced (81 Tests 51 ODI’s) former Test captain and holder of many cricketing world records, Ex. Chief Selector PCB and Ex. COO PCB Mr. Wasim Bari was sent as manager, if there was zero percent role of the manager in the final team selection. In fact, Mr. Wasim Bari has absolutely no role, as far as cricketing affairs are concerned.
In order to salvage the remaining part of this rather long tour, the chairman PCB must intervene sooner than later; and immediately restore the traditional powers of the team manager as the chairman of the tour selection committee.
In first Test vs the NZ our HC wrongly dropped Wahab Riaz, about whom later on, he was praising lavishly.
Now, in the second Test match, instead of playing Sharjeel Khan, he inducted Muhammad Rizwan and also wrongly dropped Rahat Ali.
So much for the HC. Now also it is high time that if more than three years old batting coach can not be immediately sacked during the on going tour, the PCB must send one person to join the team management immediately amongst Zaheer Abbas, Majid Khan, Javed Miandad, Mohsin Hasan Khan and Amir Suhail, to be attached with team as Team Director with special responsibility, to improve the habit somehow adopted by all our batsmen of getting out himself, by playing lose shots rather than bowler getting them out.
Please mark my words, if PCB now fails to act sagaciously and with lightning speed, this tour of NZ and Australia, may prove to be one of the biggest disappointment, in our cricketing history.
Mr. Inzamam ul Haq (the highest paid chief selector in our cricketing history) must also explain to the nation, why
our opening batsmen are constantly failing under his tenure and why Khalid Latif was dropped, if Sharjeel Khan was selected?
Our PCB top notches must learn to be proactive, rather than be reactive, because PCB is not Pakistan CASH Board, where rather than thinking to improve the ever sliding domestic and international cricketing standards, money is callously dished out on perks and privileges of the members in many novel ways and where Rupees 4 Crores are spent on one dinner and plans are being contemplated for taking on to overseas trip its BOG members with their wives in business class, plus stay in 5 star hotels; and creating a paid joyride overseas trip fund, for the pleasure of our parliamentarians.

 

Dear Mr. Prime Minister and Patron in Chief PCB
اسلام و علیکم

Sir,

At the outset I apologise for taking your busy time on the subject matter.

However, due to the sensitivity of the issue and urgency of the nature of the situation, created out of the extremely strange resolution, adopted by the Board of Governors of the PCB, in its last meeting held on 8 November, 2016 (to register PSL as an independent Private Limited Company which will be a separate entity run by its own governing board), a grave crisis has been created, which can only be resolved by your immediate and direct intervention.

In this regard, kindly allow me to explain below all the facts for your kind perusal please:

i). Nowhere, repeat nowhere in the cricket Test playing countries, T20 Cricket League is a separate company from its cricket board. The separation of PSL from the PCB is not a decision in the interest of Pakistan cricket, but may benefit few individuals.

ii). In all Test cricket playing nations, only ONE cricket board is DIRECTLY responsible for regulating all types of cricketing activities in their respective countries. If in Pakistan, two competing organisations are allowed to control cricket, it will very soon demolish the structure and the edifice of the PCB, along with the domestic cricket.

iii). In Pakistan domestic cricketing structure and standard of the game is already suffering badly, due to the acute shortage of funds; because no international cricket team has visited Pakistan, to play a complete series, since the year 2009. Under the peculiar circumstances of cricket in Pakistan, the cricket lovers are shocked at the hara kiri of the BOG of the PCB, in allowing its cash cow (PSL) to detach itself from the PCB: that too on without any plausible reasons.

iv). The shortage of funds is so acute with the PCB that it can not even spend money to provide playing practice in domestic games on imported Kookaburra cricket balls; and PCB has even requested to the ICC to create a fund for some financial assistance to the PCB.

v). Everyone remembers that when top Pakistani players were not allowed to play for the national team (as they had opted for joining Kerry Packer’s World Series team), what happened to our national team’s performance. Here also a situation is clearly apprehended in which, players, coaches and management staff will opt to go towards more lucrative PSL, even if they were to take an early retirement. This situation will badly affect on Pakistan teams future supply line of quality manpower.

vi). Cricket leagues in all countries are considered CASH COWS for the respective cricket boards. What is the the justification to cannibalise PCB by just putting forward the reason of POLITICS? The best way to minimise politics in any organisation (read PCB) is to strictly implement the policies of transparency and accountability and zero tolerance in conflict of interest situations.

vii). When even the audit report of the 1st PSL event has not been submitted to the BOG of the PCB, on which tangible and solid reasons it has decided to form a separate company for the PSL?

In this regard, what are the answers to the following questions:

1. Is the hurry and rush for creating separate company for PSL was due to the reason to create permanent and highly lucrative jobs for the few individuals, who may be foreseeing the end of their tenure in the PCB, in near future?

2. If the decision to make a separate company for PSL was taken because of the failure of the first PSL or non achievement of the desired and expected results, then why not to first have the accountability of the concerned personnel of the PSL management, who were wholly and solely responsible for running and managing the PSL, with ZERO interference from either the chairman PCB or anyone from the PM office?

And if at all the formation of an independent PSL company is inevitable; such failed persons must not be allowed to ruin the new company from the outset.

3. However, if the first PSL is found to be a successful event (after receiving the financial and management audit reports separately) then very logical question arises that what was the requirement of taking such a hugely damaging action against the PCB, whose funds and full resources were used in such a callous manner that almost Rs.4 Crore were spent on just one PSL dinner at Lahore?

4. Those who say that the Indian Supreme Court has asked the BCCI to form a separate body for IPL, are not giving the following additional information:

a). The BCCI is registered under the societies Registration Act. PCB is a statutory body formed by an Act of the GOP and currently under ministry of Inter Provincial Coordination. The constitution of the PCB and its amendments are always issued by the GOP through official gazette notifications.

b). Even after the orders of the Indian Supreme Court (ISC) the BCCI has not gone for the formation of a separate IPL body; and a legal battle is still on, between the BCCI and the ISC.

c). Some people in PCB are in a rush for the separate PSL company even when accounts of its first event has not been audited, but BCCI which started IPL in 2008 and has since played nine tournaments, has still not separated IPL from the BCCI.

Mr. Prime Minister, from the foregoing narration of facts, you can vouch for your self that the PCB is not in competent and safe hands and has utterly failed to safeguard even its own corporate interests and thus needs your immediate surgical strike to stem the rot, before it was too late to act.

Best Regards,

Syed Nayyar Uddin Ahmad