Even by the standards of the past, the last two years have been particularly grave for Pakistan cricket. The problems of 2007 have been compounded this year, where a new team has barely played any competitive cricket at all - not a single Test, and in the few one-day matches they have played, they haven’t been particularly impressive.
Australia pulled out of a series this year; the Champions Trophy was postponed, and a shadow hovers over the future of international cricket in Pakistan as the country struggles to cope with increasing militancy and the war on terror.
How have the last two years affected Pakistan and how can they get out of this latest mess? To discuss all this I have with me two gentlemen, well versed in the goings-on of Pakistan cricket: Aamer Sohail, former captain of Pakistan and former chief selector, and Osman Samiuddin, the Pakistan editor of Cricinfo.
The first question is obviously about the Champions Trophy, which got cancelled. Do you think the PCB or the ICC could have done something more to salvage it?
Aamer Sohail: Yes, I personally believe that when the situation was dire in Pakistan, the cricket board should have reacted in a positive manner. They should have tried to do something for cricket there. I think if they were on it, they should have sat down with the ICC and said: “Okay, the situation is not that great and we are afraid that if there are bomb blasts, the players are going to be reluctant to tour Pakistan. So this time around why don’t you take the Champions Trophy somewhere else and we’ll have the next tournament in Pakistan when the situation is better.” I think that is where they missed a trick.
SM: Osman, your views?
Osman Samiuddin: The whole point of the Asia Cup - not to demean the tournament in any way - was to act as a dress rehearsal for the Champions Trophy. The fact that the Asia Cup had gone ahead without any hitches, with some big teams like India and Sri Lanka participating, and also from what I heard from the security guys during the Asia Cup, suggested that they were quite happy with the arrangements. In fact, a couple of reporters were trying to track down Indian and Sri Lankan players to interview them and they couldn’t actually find them in their hotels because these players were out and about in Karachi. So I think once that happened, they should have found a way to have the Champions Trophy, because for all intents and purposes it is now difficult to see Pakistan hosting the tournament next year. Although nobody is saying it, for all intents and purposes the Champions Trophy in Pakistan has been essentially cancelled.
SM: One of the feelings I had was that if it wasn’t the Champions Trophy but the World Cup in Pakistan, hypothetically speaking, the teams would have toured. Did a lot of teams pull out also because the significance of the Champions Trophy has dwindled in the last couple of years?
OS: Definitely. You have a fair point there. Since Twenty20 cricket, and particularly the IPL, have come into cricket, calendars have filled up. The Champions Trophy is actually a better representation of the World Cup because there are fewer teams - you have the top eight sides of the world playing. But for one reason or another it just hasn’t captured people the way the World Cup does. And that can definitely be one of the factors.
Generally people were talking about the Champions Trophy as if it were one tournament too many, and the way the last World Cup was received in 2007, scepticism about ICC tournaments is high among the cricket fraternity.
SM: Aamer, one of the things that has happened with the Champions Trophy postponement is that it has set a dangerous precedent for international cricket in Pakistan, especially with respect to non-Asian teams. You can expect India and Sri Lanka to have a compassionate view and tour Pakistan, but do you see non-Asian teams touring Pakistan in the foreseeable future? And how can the situation be changed to make sure teams like England, Australia and South Africa travel to Pakistan?
AS: Sanjay, I have already spoken about this. The foreign offices have to liaison intensely, and at times they will have to use emotional blackmail to get these teams here. But the situation has become dire in Pakistan and we have to be honest about it. Now we see the major political parties, even the smaller parties, coming to a consensus that they want to do something for the betterment of the country. I think we will overcome this situation in a year or two, and when that happens, the teams you are referring to will not have a problem touring Pakistan.
At the same time I would say that once the situation is overcome, the PCB has a duty to make a Pakistani team that is sellable all over the world. At the moment if you see the Pakistan team’s performances, they haven’t been up to the mark and they haven’t been impressive. So these kinds of things happen. If you have a team, which is not a sellable product, what happens is that the other cricket boards tell themselves: “Okay. Even if we don’t tour Pakistan it is not going to be a huge loss because we can always make it up by touring another country.” I think that is where the PCB really has to sit down and start working on this.
SM: Aamer makes a good point, Osman. India-Pakistan clashes are not quite the same and that is mostly because Pakistan has not looked as competitive as they have in the past, in the '90s. The quality of the Pakistan team has not quite been the same as it was 10-15 years ago. Has that got something to do with the national crisis?
OS: It is difficult to say whether the two are related. Certainly the two have happened at the same time. There has been a strange parallel about the whole thing - the country has gone into this turmoil around the time in 2006 that the Oval Test happened, and since then, the Pakistan cricket team has been deteriorating as well. But I don’t think there is a relation.
Sanjay, it is mostly a cyclical thing when cricket teams go through these patches, where suddenly you have a new guard coming in. You’ve got a new captain coming in and you realise that maybe you don’t have as much talent in the domestic structure as you used to. Then you don’t play too much cricket and all these things come together to produce a team that is quite unsure of itself.
SM: What is also making matters worse for Pakistan is the ICL factor - the rebel league as the BCCI calls it. Some of Pakistan’s important players have gone there, thereby depleting the talent Pakistan has. How much is that a problem, Aamer?
AS: I don’t think that should be a problem for Pakistan because whoever went to the ICL was dropped by the selectors anyway, apart from Imran Farhat and one or two other players. I don’t think that should be a major concern. If somebody decides to go to the ICL, good for him. The Pakistan Cricket Board’s duty is to keep on nurturing talent at the first-class and domestic level. They need to breed them well and bring them into the national side whenever Pakistan needs them. But that hasn’t been done and that is why Pakistan is struggling.
Going back to your previous question, when I said the Pakistan cricket team is not at the moment a sellable product… When Pakistan had bigger names in their team in 2000 and in 2003, even when there were bomb blasts England and South Africa still toured. At that time South Africa were creating a lot of fuss that they did not want to come to Pakistan but they still did because Pakistan had some big names in their side. South Africa knew they had to come because if Pakistan didn’t turn up to tour their country, they were going to lose so much money. It is not only about cricket nowadays. It is about finances. You cannot overlook that.
SM: Osman, Aamer makes a very good point there. It is about Pakistan’s clout in world cricket, whether it is financial or cricketing. That has actually come down a little bit and maybe that is what is compounding the problem…
OS: Definitely, Sanjay, because when people look into Pakistan’s history, from the mid-1970s onwards Pakistan was one of the leading voices in the game. They were the ones who pushed for neutral umpires; they were the ones who pushed for a World Cup outside of England; and they were the ones who set up the Asian Cricket Conference, which became the Asian Cricket Council later. So they have always sort of led the way. We have had strong administrators, even up until someone like a Tauqir Zia, who would actually go and fight for Pakistan. Arif Abbasi was also a strong administrator. But somehow in the recent past, combined with the plight of Pakistan in general and the lack of finances in cricket, and like Aamer said the team being a difficult product to sell, the PCB has basically become a secure vote for the BCCI these days. Anything the BCCI says or any agenda it takes up, Pakistan is almost guaranteed to support it. So if you put it along with Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, the BCCI have enough votes.
For a country that was once leading the way in Asia, it is a really sad state of affairs.
SM: On that topic, tell me something, Osman. Is the current situation in Pakistan worse than it has ever been in the last 25-30 years? Is it really a situation that has never been seen before or is it just a convenient perception now for some countries?
OS: Are you talking security-wise or cricket-wise?
SM: Just the general climate in Pakistan for overseas teams to play cricket. Or is it now convenient for teams not to go to Pakistan because it is not such a big deal anymore?
OS: To some countries like England and Australia, I think it was always been convenient not to tour Pakistan. Some writers made a very valid point recently. The obvious thing is that you cannot get alcohol and go out and have a nightlife in Pakistan. That has actively put off a lot of teams from coming here because they feel - and it’s a very wrong perception - that there is very little to do in Pakistan. That has generally been the case with non-Asian teams.
SM: That is a good argument. Look at India. They had some problems with serial blasts in the last one year but Australia is quite happy to tour India and so will the other teams…
OS: Definitely. The other factor is also that the market in India is where cricket is at the moment and if you are not coming to India then you are basically not doing anything in cricket. Everyone wants to go to India for an ODI tour or for a tournament. People will probably die to go to India even to play domestic cricket. So that perception between what India is and what Pakistan is, is obvious. Sure, the on-ground realities are different between the two countries but perception plays a bigger role in determining whether they will tour or not.
SM: Aamer, can any administration change the situation in Pakistan? Will it be easy for a new administration to come in and change the situation or is it much more complex and difficult?
AS: No, I don’t think it will be that difficult. In the past, people who have had the experience have done a decent job; they have overcome difficulties. If the Pakistani cricket fraternity thinks hard before it decides who will administer cricket in Pakistan, and either goes for somebody who has the experience or even if they go for someone who is a novice, that person should be capable of being a stern administrator and he should have a team who can run the board. If these things are done, I think Pakistan cricket can overcome all the hurdles.
SM: Osman, what about Ramiz Raja’s cry of help to Imran Khan - to come and take over cricket and relieve Pakistan cricket of all their miseries?
OS: I think that it’s a cry that comes up every two to three years. Everyone hopes that Imran will come and do what he did with the cricket team when he became captain and suddenly take everyone by the collar and say: let’s do something. Probably he would have some effect because he is such a huge personality in Pakistan. Realistically - and Aamer will probably back me up here - I don’t see him coming into the cricket fold anytime soon, because he might not be a very successful politician but he is a very devoted one. Other things are happening in his life with the Shaukat Khanum hospital and the other social projects that he is involved with. But it would be great if he could get involved.
SM: But do you think he will be able to change anything?
OS: Maybe. He has that force of personality to change things. He is one of the few completely untainted cricketers in Pakistan, one of the few national heroes in that sense. That holds a lot of sway in a country like Pakistan, and also in India. I can see why Ramiz made that statement and empathise with that also.
SM: One of the suggestions that has been made, and even Aamer mentioned it, was that if you can’t have cricket in Pakistan, let Pakistan play cricket outside their country - at least that way they will get to play some international cricket. But that is just a convenient solution. It doesn’t really help Pakistan cricket. It says that our country isn’t really capable of hosting safe cricket. Aamer, is that a route Pakistan should take? Or should they just hope that the situation will improve and teams will start touring Pakistan again?
AS: Sanjay, I think you are quite right in saying that Pakistan should look to have cricket in Pakistan rather than look to go to Dubai or some other country. It was done in the past but I don’t think it was a very successful option. The stadiums were totally empty, there was hardly any intensity in the cricket. If the PCB are looking at this route as a way to earn some quick money then they should think otherwise because the PCB do have a lot of money right now and they can do away with these series.
Let me just go back to your previous question where you spoke about how Ramiz had called for Imran to head the PCB. On what basis was that statement made? How can one think that Imran can run everything smoothly? Does he have the experience or a plan? People like Ramiz should realise their responsibility before they make such a statement.
SM: Do you think Imran is not capable of handling something like this or that he isn’t prepared at the moment?
AS: On what basis can you say that Imran will be capable of taking on such a job? Does he have the experience or a plan in mind where he can say that these are the things that need to be done to lift Pakistan cricket? I think partly the reason why Pakistan cricket is facing such turmoil is because of Imran. His statements where he has said to get rid of this and that haven’t made sense.
SM: And it hasn’t helped Pakistan cricket.
OS: There are some very valid points that Aamer has raised. The emotion behind Ramiz making that statement is that a lot of people identify with Imran. Aamer makes a valid point in that Imran has no administrative experience in cricket, and you can’t just hire someone because he was a great captain. I think the rationale behind what Ramiz was saying is that that is the extent to which people have lost hope in Pakistan. They are just hoping that some saviour for Pakistan cricket will come along, because there doesn’t really seem to be anyone in sight openly who you can look at as an option. While the questions that Aamer have raised are fine, I think the rationale behind what Ramiz has said was more hope.
SM: There has always been a patron-in-chief of the PCB who has been the president of the country. Do you think that should change, and the PCB should become a totally independent cricket body? Would that help?
AS: Let me tell you one thing, Sanjay. There should be a procedure behind the working of the PCB irrespective of who is heading it. The patron-in-chief is the one who appoints the chief of the PCB, and can you believe that he doesn’t have any advisors now who can tell him who is the best person to appoint in that position? There are times when you really need to select the right option.
When we won the World Cup in 1992, we didn’t play a Test series at home for two years. At that time we needed a marketeer as the head of the PCB. This time around we need someone who knows the game very well. If the president of Pakistan can create a proper procedure for selecting the chairman of the PCB, many of the problems can be solved. I think he should advertise that he is selecting a new chief executive and a chairman for the PCB in the papers, and he should have a committee comprising two ex-captains of Pakistan, two ex-chief executives, and two ex-chairmen who need to interview all the candidates who have applied for the job. And if somebody has a good plan in mind, he should be given a tenure of four years.
SM: One of the key things is that if Pakistan raise the level of their cricket and become the world beaters that they were in the 90s then all these problems will be solved. The critical question here is: how is cricket being played at the grassroots level in Pakistan? Has anything changed at all? Is there still hope that we can see some sensational cricketing talent emerge from Pakistan, the likes of which we have got used to seeing emerge down the years? Can we be assured of a continuous supply of cricketing talent from Pakistan?
OS: I have covered a few games at the domestic level and have spoken to a few people, and there is an acknowledgment that the talent that is there is not coming up the right way. I have been impressed by the likes of Nasir Jamshed and there has been a lot of hype around the fast bowler Sohail Khan. The talent is there but they aren’t coming to the top in the right manner and that should be the aim of any PCB administration: that you nurture and utilise your resources and talent as well as possible. That should be the permanent aim of the administration. One of the other key issues that they need to sort out is the issue of people not wanting to play in Pakistan, Pakistan being marginalised in world cricket and having a very barren Future Tours Programme. The talent, at some point, will emerge.
AS: I agree with what Osman has just said. There is talent in Pakistan but it hasn’t been channelised properly. If you look at the teams participating in Pakistan’s domestic cricket set-up, you will see many players who are above 35 participating. That is one of the things that doesn’t augur well for Pakistan. The selection policy has to change from the grassroots level.
When I was Chief Selector, the amount of talent that I saw in Pakistan was amazing. If it is channelised properly you will see that Pakistan team beginning to play like they did in the 90s.
SM: Is there still enthusiasm among the young kids of Pakistan to play cricket? Or has that changed like it did in the West Indies?
AS: It’s only cricket, Sanjay.
OS: Other sports like hockey and squash have really fallen by the wayside. Cricket is basically the only option for a lot of these guys.
SM: I think that is the best piece of news coming out of this discussion and perhaps a good time to end it. Despite all that is happening in Pakistan, cricket is still the game for the youth in Pakistan. So there is a silver lining to the cloud.
Source: CricInfo
Aamir Sohail nullifies the cry of help to Imran Khan on the basis that he does not have administrative experience. Aamir said that Imran Khan made claims and hasn’t done anything to back those claims up. Osman Samiuddin adds in that Imran Khan is largely a devoted politics.
For current security turmoil, Aamir indicated that it is best for Pakistan to improve/hope for the situation which might improve. As far as empty stadiums in Dubai, I don’t recall an empty stadium the last time Pakistan played in Abu Dhabi?
Sohail: “Pakistan should look to have cricket in Pakistan rather than look to go to Dubai or some other country. It was done in the past but I don’t think it was a very successful option. The stadiums were totally empty, there was hardly any intensity in the cricket. If the PCB are looking at this route as a way to earn some quick money then they should think otherwise because the PCB do have a lot of money right now and they can do away with these series.”
We can rule out any future tours in 2009 from non-subcontinent teams. But what are your thoughts on Aamir’s theory of Pakistan and playing cricket within?