**Is there a revolt in the team?
March 4 2001
Rumman Ahmad
Word is out that top players in Pakistan’s cricket team have revolted against Lt. Gen. Tauqir Zia. The news is as yet unconfirmed, but it does raise a few important issues about the game and its administration in Pakistan.
It seems that the general has accused players of selling out the series against New Zealand to bookies. As a result top players that include Moin Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Inzamam, Saeed Anwar, Saqlain Mushtaq and a few others have threatened to return from the tour in protest. While this may ultimately turn out to be a blessing in disguise for Pakistani cricket, it does not augur well for our image abroad.
There were some gaping holes in the tour management and composition of the team to begin with. Five openers were sent with the team. Shoaib Akhtar should not have been included, but was apparently in the touring party on the insistence of the Chairman himself. Every effort was made to include Faisal Iqbal in the squad, at the expense of the most prolific scorer in domestic cricket, Misbah-ul-Haq. Shoaib Akhtar was played in the final game when he was obviously not fit. And the list could go on.
But what really ails Pakistan cricket is a total lack of management. And the blame, unfortunately, rests squarely at the top. Not only General Zia, but most of his predecessors as well. They mollycoddle the so called superstars, play politics and display a lack of rudimentary knowledge about management.
General Zia has issued a gem of a statement on the last one-day game. He is on record as saying that coaching was not at fault for the loss, and Miandad cannot be blamed for the players dropping all those catches and bowling badly! Well, can Mr. Zia tell us what exactly is a coach’s responsibility, if not to ensure peak performance from every player?
This statement is also an example of total irresponsibility and a lack of basic management knowledge at the top. One just does not lambast one’s troops in the press. Simple. And General Zia has violated this tenet throughout his tenure.
Would he issue a statement against a commander of his troops during a war? Certainly not. That would be a sure recipe for disaster. He may remove or replace him, but he cannot make public statements against him. The same is true in cricket. Either you have faith in your team and captain or you don’t. If there is a reason for a lack of faith, you will have to work with team management behind the scenes and rectify the problem. Not in public.
So, to be fair to the players, if he has been accusing them of fixing matches, then they will be within their right to revolt. On the other hand, the return of the whole gang would open up a good opportunity to blood in a totally young team that could serve Pakistan well into the future, commensurate with Gen. Zia’s ‘visions,’ whatever they may be. Indiscipline, even by your best player, should not be tolerated. And that goes for Shoaib Akhtar too. General Zia has been issuing statements in favour of Shoaib, who is a total rogue. He does not listen to management, does not play for the team, and was never fit before he left Pakistan. National asset or not, he should be put through the mill again and work his way up. Play the domestic circuits, take wickets, stay fit. Only then should he become eligible. The joke has gone too far and the time for action has come.**
[This message has been edited by Surdar Asif (edited March 04, 2001).]