Published: Jun 17, 2015, 12:41 PM (IST)
Edited: Jun 17, 2015, 12:41 PM (IST)
First of all, let me congratulate Zaheer Abbas for his nomination by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for the position of the next President of the International Cricket Council (ICC). Zaheer was a tremendous player in his day and his experience of cricket will benefit the game. Whilst I am happy for Zaheer, I would also like to bring to the attention of everyone the reason why Najam Sethi, who was originally meant to assume this position, decided to back out. The fact is that Sethi has realised that contrary to what he had everyone believe, he has no real substance to offer to the ICC. We all know that he made a lot of promises and claims about achieving great things for Pakistan cricket at the international stage, but it appears that since he has been unable to deliver those claims, he has taken the easy route under the pretext of recommending an accomplished cricketer for this role. If, as Sethi claims, an organisation such as the ICC will benefit from the experience of a senior ex-cricketer at its helm, one wonders why is it that the same yardstick is not applied in the administration of the PCB? Why is an ex-cricketer not in charge of the PCB Executive Committee in place of Najam Sethi?
The ICC presidency is great news for Zaheer and Pakistan, but I would be very interested in knowing exactly what issues he can bring to the table on behalf of Pakistan. He is not there for only lending his name and to enjoy perks of the position without achieving anything concrete in return. But then his hands are a tied by some actions taken by the current PCB administration. Take for instance the news that the PCB’s Premier League competition, the name for that hasn’t even been decided, is to be held in United Arab Emirates (UAE). On the one hand we are claiming that international cricket is “coming home” with the success of the tour by the Zimbabwe team, but next thing you know, we are now holding our premier T20 tournament in UAE in order to encourage international players to participate! What kind of conflicting message does that send to the international community? If the PCB had stuck to their guns and said we will hold the league in Pakistan, then Zaheer would have gone to the ICC and using his position made a case for the return of international cricket in Pakistan. Now he has no leg to stand on this issue and his stay as the ICC President is unlikely to yield any concrete advantage for Pakistan.
I am also very pleased and proud of the fact that some of our former cricketers have put their names forward to help Pakistan cricket. Former cricketers have a duty and an important role to play in ensuring that Pakistan cricket and its players are looked after in the best way possible but instead of pursuing the glory of a job with the national team, why not go to your local teams and help develop talent in your area? So for instance, what is stopping Inzamam-ul-Haq from going to Multan and unearthing talent from that region? Or, why doesn’t Shoaib Akhtar, who is constantly criticising the talent in Pakistan, spend some time in Rawalpindi and work with the players from that area? In my view, Inzamam and Shoaib should work with their regions to unearth talent there.
Finally a word on Pakistan’s Test series against Sri Lanka. Simply put, Pakistan will need to play well and pretty much out of their skins to win this series. To me it’s all about attrition. It’s about taking twenty wickets at a lower and more economical scoring rate. Whichever team achieves this target will be the winner. Of course Herath on his home turf will play a crucial role for the hosts but I do believe that Pakistan and their supporters should not feel overly disadvantaged by the absence of Saeed Ajmal in their ranks, after all, how many Test series against Sri Lanka has Ajmal single-handedly won for Pakistan?
(Aamir Sohail is a former Pakistan captain and all-rounder who played 47 Tests and 156 ODIs between 1990 and 2000. The above column was first published in PakPassion)
