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Real Reasons of Separating PSL from PCB..!

December 22nd, 2016 |

Author: Syed Nayyar Uddin

Respected Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif Sahab, Prime Minister of Pakistan and Patron-in-Chief of the PCB.

اسلام و علیکم

Sir,

Certain new developments demands that the matter of formation of Pakistan Super League Pvt Ltd. (PSLPL), as a separate company from the PCB, be immediately brought to your kind notice.

Recently, PCB has officially stated the following three reasons for the formation of PSLPL on its website, as per link given below:(Link..http://www.pcb.com.pk/faqs-pakistan-super-league-pvt-ltd.html )

Reason # 1.
There are some serious financial and managerial issues at stake that require subsequent handling by a separate company as many such issues become complex with the addition of more teams in the near future.

First, most PCB earnings come from foreign sources, while most PCB expenses are incurred domestically. Therefore financial handling is very easy like any other Pakistani exporter. But it is the opposite with PSL in which case, most of PSL income comes from domestic sources while almost entire expenses are incurred outside Pakistan. This requires complex foreign exchange reserves and permissions from State Bank of Pakistan for forex payments to foreign venues, event managers, foreign players, boarding and lodging for teams and officials, etc. The facilities currently allowed to PCB for such foreign payments are simply inadequate to cater for the timely and significant transfers of monies required by PSL which are bound to increase with the addition of new teams, players and longer duration of the tournament in 2018 and subsequent years. A separate company with separate financial permissions from the Ministry of Finance and State Bank of Pakistan will be better geared to cope with this problem.

Rebuttal of Reason # 1.

a).

The PCB already operates about four accounts in Dubai as it is earning foreign exchange as income, from ICC and other matches abroad. Therefore, it has deposits there,

PCB is also paying for expenditures in the UAE, in connection with hosting of our matches.

As the PSL is being held abroad there is ABSOLUTELY no issue for the PCB to make payments from its bank accounts.

As such, no government red tape or other rules are any hindrance, in payments of foreign exchange or PKR, abroad or in Pakistan, respectively.

The PCB doesn’t need special permission from government to make payments as PCB already have several foreign exchange accounts in Pakistan, as well.

In view of the foregoing, there is no justification to make PSL a separate company from PCB, on such concocted or imaginary excuses.

b).

State Bank of Pakistan is a govt organisation and provides forex for all genuine requirements. Saying that procedures are difficult to comply is like criticising govt of Pakistan and its rules.

If PCB and PSL earnings and spendings pattern are inverse to each other, that should act as a blessings: as combining both, solves the problem.

Why a separate company is needed to obtain a special financial permission?

Finance ministry is always authorised to issue SRO allowing PCB to make payments in dollars to all foreign based players and organisations. All Pakistan based organisations, players and officials should be paid in local currency. This may be one of the reason why the proposal for new organisation is being fast forwarded, so that to get payments in foreign currency, resultantly getting savings on income tax.

If PSL is made a division of PSB, then a simple SRO from finance ministry will solve all their problems.

Remember, in corporate sector it is common practice to produce for local market and for exports. They keep separate details of accounts to avail export concessions, still annual accounts are prepared as one company.

Since, PCB always claims to bring corporate culture in it , why not start with this corporate practice.

Reason # 2.

Secondly, the understanding with Franchisees envisages the inclusion of independent professional managerial and financial expertise for purposes of transparency and neutrality in which meaningful and continuous consultancy with franchisees, who have invested millions of dollars into PSL, is made institutional. There is a need for a dedicated team to supervise this dynamic process and purpose.

Reason # 3.

Thirdly, the PCB is subject to political hiccups since it is a statutory body with the Prime Minister of the political party in power as the Patron. The PSL, on the contrary, cannot afford to be subjected to political instability because the investment in it is primarily from the private sector. The PSL financial model is a 10 year model, with negative results for the franchisees in the first few years and huge profits in subsequent years. It needs continuity of policies and management to be successful as additional teams are fielded and more investments are made by new franchisees.

Rebuttal of Reasons 2.

This point is a charge sheet of PCB. It says that a separate organisation is required for the reasons of transparency, neutrality, professionalism and ability to provide consultancy to franchise owners. This is straight forward acceptance that these traits are absent from PCB!!!!!

If we accept this point of view, then the decision of PCB to establish a separate private company for PSL was also non- transparent, biased and non- professional. Therefore, must be nullified by PM’s intervention immediately.

Rebuttal of Reason # 3.

This flimsy argument is not only self-contradictory, but hilarious and ridiculous, as well.

To whom this official statement on the PCB’s website is trying to deceive?

Everywhere, it is being propagated by the top notches of the PCB, in the media and also on the PCB’s website that this PSLPL will be 100% owned by the PCB.

At the same time PCB officially states on its website that “the PCB is subject to political hiccups since it is a statutory body with the Prime Minister of the political party in power as the Patron.”

Now, if the PSLPL will be 100% owned by the PCB, what difference it will make on the control of the government, when the PM of political party in power, will be naturally, the Paton-in-chief.

Furthermore, the above official statement of the PCB, that too on its website, is firstly, not only a clear NO CONFIDENCE on the PM of political party in power, who obviously can not be illegal ruler or dictator of the country; and comes into power with constitutional and legal authority: and secondly, an insult of the authority of the PM of political party in power. Moreover it is also a blatant condemnation/indictment of the political system, enshrined in the country’s constitution; and it is for the Attorney General of Pakistan and legal brains of the country, to determine, whether the top management of the PCB (a statutory body) is guilty of violation of any constitutional clause or/ and rules and regulations of the ESTACODE.

In view of the foregoing, there is now not even an iota of a doubt that the current top management of the PCB is rushing to create PSLPL, out of the PCB, for some hidden and undisclosed reasons, by putting up arguments on official website which absolute does not hold water.

Moreover, general public is being deliberately mislead with statements on media (TV interview dated 10, December 2016 at Express News TV link:- https://t.co/qYBHDk3IwD?ssr=true ) where Mr. Najam Sethi, who holds unprecedented five key positions in the PCB set up (1. Member BOG. 2. Chairman Executive Committee. 3. Chairman PSL 4. Chairman HR Committee. 5. Member Audit Committee) said that out of the PKR 26 crore profit from the 1st PSL, PCB was given profit of PKR 6 crore, instead of PKR 3 crore, due amount.

However, the official statement on the PCB’s website states absolutely a different figure quoted below:

Quote.
“Upon conclusion of all PSL accounts, PCB earned $2.6m profit before tax, while the Franchisees, as expected, showed losses on their initial investment. Being cognizant of this fact, PCB reimbursed them to the tune of $2.2m out of its own profits in order to reduce their losses as pledged during marketing presentations before the process of sale of franchise rights.”
Unquote.

Here, it will not be out of place to mention that PCB in its May 20, 2016 press release (also posted on the PCB’s website) admitted that the total budgeted expenditure of the 1st PSL was $7.71m while the ACTUAL expenditure was $8.93m, which was an excess of $1.22m, which is a very huge difference, requiring audit from the office of the Auditor General Pakistan, rather than leaving the matter to some other auditors.

Another deliberate wrong statement (just to impress the ordinary public) mentioned at PCB’s website is quoted as below:

Quote:
“Over and above this, the PCB’s BoG has set up an Audit Committee headed by Mansoor Masood Khan, President of UBL, to oversee all budgetary issues.”
Unquote.

However, the President of the UBL is Mr. Wajahat Husain since 1 June, 2014 and NOT Mr. Mansoor Masood Khan.

The above contradictions in PCB statements on media are not mistakes, but to deceive, hoodwink and mislead deliberately to hide failures, incompetencies and exorbitant expenditures like spending about PKR 4 crore on a single dinner in Lahore.

It will not be out of place to mention that recently Serena Hotel Quetta, charged PKR 19.25 lacs for food items; and PKR 15 lacs as catering charges for a 400 persons VVIP function, during a visit of the PM to Pishin.

Sir, now just observe the vast difference of charges of a PCB function in the same city i.e. Lahore and out of Quetta function in Pishin.

The question which arises in this regard is that what was the Audit Committee of PCB (headed by the so called president of the UBL) was doing along with the most reputed private auditors. Here it will again be not out of place to mention that according to reports, PCB had earlier employed a GM (F&A), Manager (F) and Manager (A) who previously worked with the firm, which audits PCB accounts.

In this regard, no august member of Board of Governors, no audit committee or no independent auditors, ever questioned the PCB that why the media rights for period 2015-2020 were sold for less amount than the auction amount income of media rights of previous five years.

Now, it is high time that the Patron-in-Chief of the PCB, the Ministry of Inter Provincial Coordination and the Governing Members of the PCB ask the top notch management team, which is at the helm of affairs of PCB’s entire operations to explain, where was the money ($150m will come in 8 years from 2014 which comes to $18.75m per year) which was promised by Mr. Najam Sethi, that it will be coming from the ICC, after (according to Mr. Najam Sethi) Pakistan was made the Big4 of the ICC, as per his following statement published by the daily Express Tribune dated 30 June, 2014, extract quoted below and also link provided below:

Quote.
“That, Sethi claimed, will get Pakistan the most funds after the Big Three.

“We will get revenues on fourth number, and I can say with confidence that in the next eight year cycle we will get $150 million dollars from the ICC,” he said, bringing the total takings to $450 million.

This compares to Pakistan receiving $10 million from the ICC per year in the last seven-year (total $70m) cycle, Sethi added.”
Unquote.

Link:- http://tribune.com.pk/story/729174/big-four-pakistan-to-earn-450-million-in-cricket-cycle/

Sir, the above lengthy details of the utter and absolute management failures of the PCB’s heavy weights, proves that if all of them are allowed to continue with the PCB, they will surely ruin this national organisation, sooner than later, with ideas like formation of PSLPL etc.

As such, it is high time that the PCB is put on the right path, with an immediate surgical operation of replacing the entire set up with people, who love the glorious game of cricket genuinely, are efficient, dedicated and thorough professional and ready to work in harmony; and utilise the experience and wisdom of the senior cricketers, to make the PCB and the domestic cricket structure of Pakistan, best in the world.

Best Regards,

Syed Nayyar Uddin Ahmad

Posted in Cricket, My Views, Pakistan, Sports | No Comments »

How to transform – The most heroin-addicted country?

December 14th, 2016 |

Author: Syed Nayyar Uddin

Respected Prime Minister of Pakistan,

Respected all leaders of the political parties in Pakistan,

Respected all Pakistanis,

AoA.

Sir,

The following email message from the VP USA, reveals how much importance the US government is attaching to combat the heroin and prescription opioid epidemic ripping apart families and communities in America.

Email of VP USA Joe Biden, reproduced below, as an eye opener:

From: “Vice President Joe Biden”
Date: 13 December 2016 at 9:37:24 PM GMT+5
To: <nayyar51@hotmail.com>
Subject: God willing, this bill will save lives:
The White House, Washington
Last Monday night, forty-four years after the people of Delaware first sent me to the United States Senate, I presided over a Senate vote for one of the last times.

As Vice President of the United States and president of the Senate, I served as the presiding officer as the Senate moved forward on the 21st Century Cures Act, a bill that will harness America’s best minds in science, medicine, and technology to tackle the biggest health challenges of our time.

This bill will help us combat the heroin and prescription opioid epidemic ripping apart families and communities. It invests in programs to improve mental health treatment and suicide prevention. It will provide resources for President Obama’s BRAIN and Precision Medicine initiatives, so that our world-class researchers can figure out how to better prevent, treat, and eventually cure Alzheimer’s, epilepsy, and traumatic brain injuries.

And this is the part that’s personal for me and for millions of Americans: The 21st Century Cures Act invests $1.8 billion to help us end cancer as we know it. For over a year, I’ve been leading our National Cancer Moonshot to fundamentally change the culture of our fight against cancer and inject a sense of urgency into it. This bill goes a long way to help us — investing in promising new therapies, enhancing prevention and detection efforts in every community regardless of zip code, and bringing us closer to the day when there are vaccines for all kinds of cancer, just as we have them for measles or mumps.

God willing, this bill will save lives.

While I was presiding in the Senate, my colleagues from both sides of the aisle renamed the section of this bill on cancer research for my son, Beau, who lost his battle with brain cancer, but like countless Americans who lost their own battles, inspires us to do everything we can for the loved ones we can save. My thanks goes out to the bipartisan leadership — Democrats and Republicans in the House and the Senate — who ensured that this important bill became law. Without this true bipartisan support, this piece of legislation, which will help millions of Americans, would not have been possible.

Today, President Obama will sign the 21st Century Cures Act into law. One last time in our Administration, I will stand right by him at a signing ceremony — proud of our country, and proud of the work we’ve done to give people hope.

I hope you’ll join me.

Thanks,

Joe
We wish our federal and provincial governments in Pakistan were also aware about the drug related damage, being caused by this menace which is more damaging than terrorism, to our future generations.

In this regard, the recent deaths of a student of LUMS in Lahore and a lady in the Chamba House Lahore, reportedly due to the drugs overuse, is just the tip of the iceberg.

If anyone wants to know the stark reality of the gravity of drug menace in Pakistan, the following two paragraphs of an article’s link given below, will suffice as an eye opener:

Quote:
“Pakistan, a country already tormented by regional insurgencies, is fighting a losing battle against a different kind of foe: drug addiction. In the country’s northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), an estimated 11 percent of residents use illicit substances – primarily heroin. Peshwar, the provincial capital of KPK, is a city rife with homeless addicts and dirty needles.”

“Pakistan’s illegal drug trade is believed to generate $2 billion a year [making] Pakistan the most heroin-addicted country, per capita, in the world.” Unquote.

Link:- http://thediplomat.com/2014/03/pakistan-the-most-heroin-addicted-country-in-the-world/

In this connection, it is earnestly and urgently requested that the Prime Minister of Pakistan and all opposition parties, particularly having representation in the parliament (because they are ruling in all the four provinces of the country), to accord top priority to protect our future generations, from the most deadly menace of increasing drugs use trend, in our kids and youth on streets and educational institutions, by joining hands in planning and execution of legislation and action plans, on war like emergency basis.

In this regard, we should not only concentrate to fight the drug menace from just one angle, but our plan should be multi pronged, encompassing every conceivable activity in society, to provide healthy atmosphere to our youth.

First of all we must include the dangers of drugs use in the curriculum of the junior classes to educate and brain wash our youth in their early ages.

Sports is another activity in which, fortunately, our youth loves to indulge in.

Revival of sports in country will also provide jobs to many jobless youth in our country.

In this regard, a presentation on how to revive sports in Pakistan was given to the PMO on 6 September, 2016 wherein, it was also suggested to build few modern sports cities (as a part of CPEC program) to channelise the energy of our youth from drugs, crime and terrorism towards healthy sports activities, along with automatic provision of jobs, from the newly created sports industry.

Somehow, it seems that like all previous governments, this PMLN government does not even consider sports, as one of its last priorities.

If anyone wants to know the importance of sports in transforming a society, kindly peruse the following statement of late Nelson Mandela, slightly modified to be applicable on current Pakistani state of affairs of the society.

Quote:
“Sports has the power to change Pakistan…it has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite Pakistani people in a way that little else does. It speaks to the Pakistani youth in a language they understand. Sports can create hope for the entire Pakistani nation, where once there was only despair, lawlessness, hunger, unemployment, poverty, drugs, suicide bombings and alarming increase of suicides due to the economic hardships. It is more powerful than government in breaking down the menace of drugs and terrorism which has blown the country to the smithereens.”
Unquote.

Best Regards,

Syed Nayyar Uddin Ahmad

An advice/plan previously given on 26 June 2016 to PMLN’s government titled “How to improve economy with sports?” which fell on deaf ears of those who were never bothered about the welfare of the teeming millions of Pakistan.

How to improve national economy and reduce expenses on health budget with investment in sports..!

Respected Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif Sahab,

اسلام و علیکم

Sir,

The subject mentioned article is submitted for your personal kind perusal and is based on an old maxim quoted as below:

“The battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton”.
(i) The British were given to believe the real reason which tipped the balance in their favour in wars was the superior character of its young men built in boarding schools while playing games like cricket.

(ii) Eton was one of the famous English boarding schools that trained English boys for careers in the military, civil service and the church. (DAANISH Schools of the Punjab Government are a great example of a visionary project to turn around the fortunes of the future generations of Pakistan).

(iii) Famous public schools saw team sports like cricket not just as outdoor play, but as an organised way of teaching English boys, the discipline, the importance of hierarchy, the skills, the codes of honour and the leadership qualities that helped them build and run the British Empire.

(iv) Through the game of cricket-the ideal that cricket was played not for victory or profit but for its own sake, in the spirit of fair play, the British imperialists sought to justify their conquests and glorify the self image of English elite as “unselfish acts”.

(v) Though it suited the English ruling class to believe that it was the superior character of its young men built on playing fields that tipped the balance, the Napoleanic wars were won due to the economic resources of England. It was progress in trade and industry which made England, the world’s greatest power.

As such, a humble effort is made with the subject mentioned article reproduced below, to raise this nation’s full economic potential in trade and industry, through a physically super-fit Pakistani population, which must collectively believe in the saying “healthy body healthy mind’.

Last but not the least, we have to consider the 200 million population of Pakistan, as a huge manpower asset of this planet, which needs to channelise its positive energy into specific future goals, set by the nation’s visionary leadership. The national leadership must also determine, how to achieve these goals.

ARTICLE.

It is no secret that how politics coupled with corruption, has spoiled the sports in the country, which has earned the DUBIOUS distinction of the worlds BIGGEST nation, NOT to have earned a single medal in the Olympics, since the year 1994. While, much smaller and poorer countries like Ethiopia, Afghanistan and Kenya, have proved that winning medals at international level is just a matter of commitment, dedication and simple hard work, sans politics.

In the past, luckily our cricket, hockey, squash and some other sporting teams and players have been bringing laurels for Pakistan; with very little money, extremely small size governing boards and minimal politics.

Gradually, the foundations of key sports in Pakistan were eaten up by the greed of money, rampant corruption, nepotism, politics and incompetencies of the successive governments, sports managers and the players combined.

If, we have to put the sports in Pakistan back on the right track, two basic things are necessary.

Firstly, a vision and secondly, visionary and totally focused sports leadership, to put Pakistan back on top, at the worlds’ sports map.

As far as, the vision is concerned, nothing ever said about sports can match the following quote of Mr. Nelson Mandela, “Sport has the power to change the world…it has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than government in breaking down racial barriers.”

Now, taking a cue from the above mentioned statement of Mr. Nelson Mandela, it is suggested that Pakistani government should slightly re-phrase it and declare the following as its VISION statement:

“Sports has the power to change Pakistan…it has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite Pakistani people in a way that little else does. It speaks to the Pakistani youth in a language they understand. Sports can create hope for the entire Pakistani nation, where once there was only despair, lawlessness, hunger, unemployment, poverty, drugs, suicide bombings and alarming increase of suicides due to the economic hardships. It is more powerful than government in breaking down the menace of terrorism which has blown the country to the smithereens.”

Moreover, sports raised in the country on modern and scientific lines can be one of the biggest economic sector; providing employment, reducing poverty and drastically improving public health and fitness levels.

Under an sports advisor to the Prime Minister, we need to have a Pakistan Sports Commission (PSC) responsible for central planning under the banner میرا پاکستان sports system.

Under the this system, Pakistan will root out talented young children and put them in special academies from as young as four years old. If they are able to progress, athletes who make the cut should be put into a relentless training programme, filled with targets they must regularly hit, and paid by the government a monthly wage of Rs.60,000/-

Each year, the best athletes should then be sent to national training centres to be established at all the provincial capitals, where they will compete to enter Pakistan’s national team.

If they will succeed, they will move with their families into these training centres and live there all year round. These centres will train the sportspersons having the following mission statement:

“There will be no breakthrough without the hardest hardship. You cannot be a champion without going through the ultimate pressure”.

For as long as they will be successful, the national team members will benefit from perks including air tickets for their parents to watch them compete and, in some cases, sponsorship deals.

Sportspersons who will win medals in international competitions, or with national titles, can attend university after their career ends, with the tuition fee paid for, by the government.

The Pakistan Sports Commission (PSC) should have three units under the Advisor on Sports to the PM, namely the administrative departments, sport competition management centres, and other support and services institutions.

The PSC will be closely tied with All Sports Federations of Pakistan and the Pakistan Olympic Committee (POA). Besides forming strategies for sport development, overseeing their implementation, and developing mid- and long-range sport development plans, the PSC will be responsible for 9 number of functions as detailed below:

1. Creating a national sport framework

2. Promoting physical activity and exercise participation in schools and local and regional communities

3. Organising national sporting events

4. Organising international sport events in Pakistan.

5. Enforcing antidrug and anticompetitive measures.

6. Supporting research into the development of sports.

7. Implementing regulations governing the sport industry, sport market, and sport-related business activities.

8. Implementing national physical training standards and supervising public health in coordination with the Ministry of Health.

9. Overseeing sport activities with foreign associations and teams, and sport-related cooperation and communication with foreign countries.

To fulfill the nation’s Olympic strategies and ambition, the PSC and sport authorities at the provincial level will play a key role in promoting sport development in Pakistan.

One of the strategies should be the sponsorship of the Pakistan National Games (PNG), modelled after the modern Olympic Games; the PNG will be the largest and most important sport extravaganza in Pakistan. Each province-level administrative unit should send a team to compete in the PNG. The preparation for and competition at the PNG will allow the government to cultivate elite Pakistani athletes for major world competitions.

The essence of Pakistani Olympic strategies and ambition will be a unique system of selecting and training elite athletes.

Pakistan will become one of the few countries in the world that dedicate and use spare-time sport schools extensively to train and prepare future elite athletes. A spare-time sport school will be a boarding school specialized in sport and established to train Olympic hopefuls. Students will be selected for their athletic talent. They will take academic classes in the morning and engage in rigorous sport training sessions in the afternoon. These sport schools will serve as a reserve pool for elite sport teams at the provincial and national levels.

The Sports Law of Pakistan should became effective within six months of the formation of the PSC, becoming the first fundamental legal document for sport.

The Sports Law will establish the main tasks and key principles in managing the sport industry, confirming the importance of mass sport, and identifying the duties and responsibilities of sport-related organizations.

Essentially, the law will set the framework for the development of modern sport in Pakistan. The enactment of the law will signify that the sport industry in Pakistan has entered a new era under the protection of the country’s legal system.

Based on the Sports Law, local governments at provincial and city levels will have the right and authority to make their own rules for managing sport within their jurisdictions.

The Plan for Olympic Glories should also be released by the PSC within six months of its formation. The plan should outline three goals:

(a) restructuring the system in elite sport training and management.

(b) enhancing the elite athlete delivery pipeline and system (including sport schools).

(c) endeavours to maintain the nation’s leading position in world sport competitions.

The PSC should also promulgate the guidelines for a national fitness program. The guidelines should be drafted with the aim of improving the health and the overall physical condition of the general population.

The guidelines will encourage everyone, especially children and adolescence, to engage in at least one sporting activity every day, learn at least two ways of keeping fit, and have a health examination every year.

The aim will be that by 2020 about 40 percent of Pakistan’s population would be regularly participating in physical activity and that clear improvement would take place in the physical fitness level of Pakistani citizens.

In this modern era sports needs professionalisation which will lead to commercialisation; this means that sports associations become profit-making entities and that there will be a club system and professional sports leagues will also be formed. Sports clubs operations will cover ticket sales, advertising, club transfers, commercial matches, and television broadcasting.

This will open for world wide sports playing and related job opportunities for Pakistani sportspersons.

Best Regards,

Syed Nayyar Uddin Ahmad

Posted in Action Plan to Revive Pak Economy, Health Matters, My Views, Pakistan, Sports | No Comments »

PCB is not Pakistan CASH Board..!

November 26th, 2016 |

Author: Syed Nayyar Uddin

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.

Posted in Cricket, My Views, Pakistan, Sports | No Comments »

SOS to PM for saving the PCB..!

November 17th, 2016 |

Author: Syed Nayyar Uddin

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

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A diagnosis – Why # 1 Test team is # 9 ODI team?

September 28th, 2016 |

Author: Syed Nayyar Uddin

The augment that Pakistan’s 9th rank in the ODI version of the game, is due to no international cricket in Pakistan since the year 2009, does not hold water, because at the same time, without international cricket, we are # 1 Test team of the world.

What is good for goose is good for gander.

In my humble opinion, the factual reason for our teams continuous poor performance in the ODI games, has the following reasons:

1. Our nemesis is the 1st power play of 10 overs, where our average was just 39 runs, when only 2 fielders are standing in the acres and acres of outfield.
Ist power play period of 10 overs, demands POWER HITTING and a score of not less than 90 runs. Recently, in England, we did score in an ODI match, 83 runs in the first 10 overs of 1st power play. However, mostly the moment, we lose a wicket or two, our team panics and immediately start playing in a defensive mode, forgetting that in an ODI match, either you win or lose, there was no scope for a draw, like Test matches.
Somehow, our batsmen are also very susceptible to short pitch rising deliveries; and this weakness, is nowadays, being fully being exploited by our opponent teams.

2. Our next huge weak point is playing the dot balls.
In an innings of 50 overs, a total of 300 balls are available.
In the World Cup2015 match vs India, we played 169 dot balls and lost the match by 75 runs.
The only solution of reducing dot balls is the rotation of strike; and going for singles, doubles and three runs, if boundaries were controlled by the opposite team, by way of good bowling or excellent fielding.

3. Our bowlers have totally forgotten how to bowl effective Yorkers and dot ball bouncers.

4. Both our pacers and spinners frequently come into the danger zone and are time and again warned by the umpires, which results in mentally putting the bowler under such a pressure that he forgets his main task of bowling with line and length.
Moreover, our spinners are not using the art of wicket to wicket bowling, resulting in getting fewer and fewer wickets.
In ODI and T20 matches, wicket to wicket bowling pays higher dividends, because batsmen are always lifting their bat, to go for big hits.
Our bowlers also lack discipline of not bowling no balls and wide balls. The new rules of free hit are very much tilted in the favour batsmen, because any type of no ball is now penalised with a free hit. If our bowlers can not restrict their no and wide balls then all the hard work of batsmen and fielders go down the drain.
No balls should be considered a CRIME like a SELF GOAL.

5. A run saved is a run scored. Dropped catches not only badly demoralises the bowler but brings the opponent team, nearer to victory.
Run outs should always not be the incorrect anticipation of the batsman, but run outs should also be created by the guile and agility of the fielders.
In the recently held T20 World Cup2016 match played in Chandigarh between Pak vs NZ, it was really shocking to witness NZ batsmen running 5 score, in an extremely small ground.
World class teams have a RULE of thumb that no player is considered for selection, particularly, in T20 and ODI teams, if that player is known for his poor fielding.
We in Pakistan, never hesitate to include in our T20 and ODI teams, poor fielders like Irfan, Rahat, Tanvir etc.
Our team should forget improvement in ODI rankings, if fielding is not taken as seriously, as batting or bowling.

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Why Pakistan is a zero medal country?

August 26th, 2016 |

Author: Syed Nayyar Uddin

Why Pakistan is a zero medal country in the Olympics since 1994?
Mr. Prime Minister, please sack the sports minister and dissolve all sports bodies of Pakistan, because, if these persons are not there, we will save billions and can’t go below zero medal level.
In Atlanta Olympics 1996 Great Britain ended up 36th on the medals table with only one Gold. They were behind Ethiopia,Nigeria,Algeria,Spain & Italy.
The whole nation protested so vehemently that their sports officials went into hiding with shame and disgrace.
They revamped the entire sports bodies and brought in Olympic medal winners in all bodies. Selected few disciplines in which they could concentrate and went about preparations.
In Rio, they finished number two with 46 Gold Medals, after USA.
Unless, there is a ruthless accountability of blood suckers, who are leeching on to our sports for decades, there would be no change.

Posted in Human Feats, My Views, Pakistan, Sports | No Comments »

How to overcome the mental paralysis of the PCB’s think tank?

July 26th, 2016 |

Author: Syed Nayyar Uddin

The entire responsibility of Yaser Shah’s abysmal performance in the 2nd Test (1/266) rests on Mr. Mushtaq Ahmad, and no one else.

However, legendary spinner Dr. Intikhab Alam was also sitting there and he should have guided Yaser Shah to how to bowl at the English batsmen, who changed their technique from lords, as stated by their captain:
“Watching Yasir from Lord’s, he got a lot of lbws and bowled so we played him a little straighter and it worked,” said Cook.

More than the players, it was a complete failure of the entire Pakistani nincompoop coaching staff and the tour management committee, who just sat on the laurels of the Lords victory and failed to devise any strategy for the second Test match and entered the game without ANY plan, except not to do any push ups again.

In cricket, every new game is an entirely new battle of wits. Gone are days when winning combinations were not disturbed. The biggest failure of Micky Arthur and Misbah ul Haq was when they ignored our glaring weaknesses of the first Test and entered into the second match on the hype of the Lords victory push-ups.

Further, from day one, Amir was bowling at a reduced speed in the second Test and by the end he had to go off the field. If this man was not fit he should never have been waisted in the second match.

The secret of success lies not in the push-ups, but in staying ahead of your competitor, by future gazing, knowing your and competitors weak and strong areas, anticipating the next move of the opponent and be ever ready to adapt for the change.

Now, till the start of the 3rd Test on 3rd August, we should utilise the available time for some radical changes.

As such, the chairman PCB must act immediately and swiftly (like ECB did when they immediately inducted Saqlain Mushtaq, which helped Moeen Ali get many more wickets and much cheaply than Yaser Shah) and induct the world renowned legendary leg spinner Mr. Abdul Qadir, as a spin bowling consultant of the touring team.

The following suggestions submitted a few days ago may be considered on the theory of selecting horses for courses:

Few suggestions for the remaining two Test matches:

1. Let Shan Masood continue opening the innings. However, the batting coach must work very hard on removing his weakness of playing rising balls and mental block against the bowling of James Anderson.
2. Drop M. Hafeez.
3. Call back Shoaib Malik from his Test retirement, as a batting all-rounder. We need his off spin bowling desparately.
4. Let Azhar open with Shan.
5. Drop Younis Khan and bring, in his place, Sami Aslam, who is already with the squad.
6. The batting order may be reshuffled as below, as England has also promoted their best batsmen J Root to # 3 position, who alone scored 325 runs in the match, whereas, our 22 batsmen scored a mere 432 runs (Average 19.63) in the 2nd Test match.
1. Azhar
2. Shan Masood
3. Asad Shafiq
4. Misbah ul Haq
5. Sami Aslam
6. Sarfraz Ahmad
7. Shoaib Malik
8 to 11 four bowlers.

It also looks Amir is a shadow of his original self. If he is not fit, either, Sohail Khan or Zulfiqar Babar may be included in his place or Junaid Khan may be called from Pakistan.

Keeping in view the overall pathetic batting display, Fawad Alam must also be immediately flown to the UK: and given a try in the side matches before the 3rd Test, to check his form under the English conditions.

Moreover, for the ODI’s the situation is even more critical, as our eligibility for the ODI World Cup 2019, is dependent upon staying by September, 2017 within the top 8 rankings, which at the moment is #9 and our next 15 ODI’s will be played against England, West Indies, NZ and Australia.

In the ODI format, batting is our Achilles heal. In this regard, it is suggested that Misbah ul Haq, may be advised in the national interest to rejoin our ODI team, by cancelling his retirement, as a batsman, to see through the period, till the rankings cut off time of September, 2017.

Pakistan Paindabad.

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Improving economy with sports..!

June 26th, 2016 |