Departments’ players rapidly losing their jobs

By Abdul Mohi Shah
October 14, 2019

Cricketers who last year were seen playing first-class and Grade II cricket are up against tough times ahead as their respective departments have started relieving them citing one reason or the other.

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The leading departments around the country including National Bank, KRL and ZTBL have started looking for reasons to release cricketers for what they call extra ‘financial burden’ of sports department.

When The News approached renowned former Test cricketer Iqbal Qasim who is also head of the NBP Sports Departments, he admitted that things had been going from bad to worse as far as departmental cricketers are concerned.

“Being a cricketer myself I am trying hard to save and protect players. But I would be needing reasons for that. We have already relieved ten cricketers who were on contract and are finger crossed as what to do for other remaining lot who were part of the NBP cricket team last year.”

Iqbal Qasim said that HR department was already considering other options. “Look now when our cricket team has nothing to do we have no other options but go depute these cricketers on some other duties and that job could be a professional one. How many NBP cricketers would have the capacity to so that professional job is a question we are facing these days.” Those NBP cricketers who have educational back ground may survive while other have to leave the bank in future. “Some of the cricketers have already intimated that their profession is only to play cricket and nothing else. These are considering option of leaving the back. Iqbal Qasim said he would be needing reasons to convince high ups to help these cricketers stay on their present positions.

A KRL Sports Department official confirmed relieving around eight cricketers. “We have relieved seven to eight players who were hired on contract during the last two years. We are not going to extend their contracts as their services are no more required,” one of KRL officials when contacted said.

The official who has been handling KRL cricket team said they were around thirty more players and officials left. “More than twenty players and around ten officials are there now. At the moment we are considering different options in an effort to help them stay on. But we cannot say anything final at the moment.”

ZTBL has already written a letter to all the cricketers associated with the Bank to show their prowess on business front.

“Your services as cricketer are no more requirements following restructuring of first class system by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). The authorities have decided to utilize your services as Sales Representatives in deposit taking branch. You are required to meet the target (at least five million rupees and 12 new accounts per month), failing which the competent authority reserve the right to relieve you from your job,” the letter written to ZTBL cricketers say.

It is impossible for a non-professional cricketer to meet such a target when he is a raw and non-professional in his capacity.

So there are growing chances in days and months to come that we would see around 500 of the total 900 cricketers who were involved in domestic cricket last year, go jobless.

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