Whose property is Pakistan Cricket Board anyway?

While the battle for the custody of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) still has to reach a legitimate solution as to who should be calling the shots in the Najam Sethi v Zaka Ashraf battle for supremacy, the ugly confrontation may not yet meet the end it yearns for. Both gentlemen should remember that the PCB is not theirs, or for that matter, anyone else’s property. It is an independent entity meant to oversee cricket both within and outside the country. The imbroglio created by the two is simply too much to tolerate. Zaka’s claim that he is the chairman is very much open for debate following last year’s controversial election which made him the first ‘elected’ boss of PCB. The judiciary, of course, see that in different light; otherwise the ex-president of ZTBL wouldn’t have vacated the Gaddafi Stadium. Twice he was reinstated through a court ruling and twice he was asked to leave to leave the PCB headquarters. Sethi, on the other hand, claims that he has been assigned a role, in his capacity as the interim PCB chief, by the board’s patron - the honourable Prime Minister. That responsibility is to hold the chairman’s election in the stipulated time frame given in the first half of June and concentrate full time on his media career thereafter. Zaka’s second reinstatement lasted just a few days during which he managed to rope in Arif Ali Khan Abbasi, the erstwhile administrator of Pakistan cricket. But Abbasi’s reconnection with the board, which astounded many in the first place given the man’s stature, was very much short-lived — a matter of some 15 hours, all told — when the Supreme Court upheld an appeal from the Sethi camp. Sethi chose his latest homecoming to proudly announce to the cricketing fraternity that Pakistan has extended an invitation to Sri Lanka to play the first series in the country since that dastardly terror attack on the Sri Lankan team during the Lahore Test on March 3, 2009. Some might consider it a good move in PCB’s bid to revive international cricket on Pakistan soil, but most see that invitation differently. The law and order situation, certainly, has not improved dramatically to think of having a full-fledged Test team visiting our shores. Sethi says the federal government will back the PCB move to host a series later in the year, but this appears to be a wishful thinking if nothing more. The most surprising aspect of Sethi presser in Lahore last week was that the Sri Lankans would be promised ‘maximum’ security with the help of the Punjab government, a clear indication that if the tour miraculously materialises, the matches won’t be held elsewhere other than Lahore! This obviously smacks of a biased attitude on part of the PCB. If ever international cricket makes a welcome return to Pakistan the national cricket board should be supportive of other major venues — such as Karachi, Rawalpindi and Multan etc — as well and not propagate a campaign in favour of just one city. They shouldn’t overlook the simple fact that unless the security concerns of all — be it the teams, officials or other dignitaries — are allayed, no team would risk touring Pakistan. It is one thing to guarantee stringent security measures to lure a sporting team playing here but totally different when those rituals are put into practice. The security afforded to the Mahela Jayawardene-led Sri Lankans on the ill-fated tour five years ago was same as given to presidents, prime ministers and other VVIPs and yet tragedy befell upon perhaps the most humble bunch of international cricketers. One fears that Sethi’s rather over-confident assertion could be premature there still is a lot to go on the PCB front in the next couple of weeks. Despite his assurances that India would be bilaterally playing Pakistan, one can’t feel over the moon on that declaration either. A common Pakistan cricket supporter doesn’t have enough time to pay any attention to the war of attrition between Najam Sethi and Zaka Ashraf because he already has a lot more important things to do than take interest in the personal vendettas of two people who are themselves to blame for the unnecessary chaos! Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2014