No international cricket in Pakistan

‘Prime Minister must intervene now’

KARACHI: PCB officials have failed to bring international cricket to Pakistan even after law and order situation has been improved a lot, a former high official of PCB told ‘The News’.

PCB has failed to persuade foreign cricket teams to come here because the high officials are not professional and they have no relations with international cricket community, he said.

A former Test cricketer himself, he said it is time the federal government, Senate standing committee for sports or PM Nawaz Sharif, who is the patron-in-chief of PCB, see the matter. They should probe if it is because of incompetency of cricket officials or something else, he said.

He said 11 Israeli Olympic contingent members were taken hostage and eventually killed, along with a German police officer, in Munich during the 1972 Summer Olympics. The entire world was stunned, but the Games were not stopped, he added.

“Bloggers have been killed on streets in Bangladesh, but England visited that country. A bomb went off in Rajasthan in 2008 during the IPL but no player left India,” he said.

He said that in Karachi, a private organisation invited former West Indian fast bowler Andy Roberts, South African Jonty Rhodes, Australian Damien Martin and New Zealander Danny Morrison for coaching of young cricketers but PCB failed to take such a step.

He warned that if Pakistan did not stop playing its home series in UAE, the game of cricket in the country would be devastated.

“Our bowlers failed to bowl out the Australian team in four out of five innings, and batsmen failed to even force a draw despite rain interruptions.

“Ian Chappell only showed us the mirror, where we stand right now. His argument was that the Australian cricket fans wanted to see competent cricket teams at their grounds,” said the former cricket administrator.

Former Australian captain Ian Chappell advised the Australian board not to invite Pakistan because of their extremely poor performance in the recent Test series.

“We should not be satisfied with the number one position we held for a few days. We must consider why we lost six Tests in a row,” he added.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who appointed the top PCB officials, should ask them to explain their positions. “Why have they failed to make India play bilateral series here? The same high-ups could not agree any foreign team except Zimbabwe, the weakest team, to visit Pakistan.

“If Dr Muhammad Ali Shah could invite so many international players to Karachi in 2012 although the law and order situation was very bad, why can’t they do so? Those players included Sanath Jayasuriya, Ricardo Powell, Justin Kemp, Andre Nel, Nantie Hayward. And the team’s coach-cum-manager was Alvin Kallicharran. 

“But these guys, despite the success of Operation Zarb-e-Azab could not revive international cricket here,” he said.

Pakistan’s former Test cricketer Jalaluddin said the weaknesses of the team were all exposed in just two months.

He said he had been saying for a long time that “home series in UAE” did not serve any purpose. “Playing at dead wickets, both at home in Pakistan and the UAE for past many years, has affected the abilities of our cricketers. They are unable to survive on bouncy tracks in other countries.

“It seems that some officials in PCB are more interested in organising the home series in the UAE so that they could stay at luxury hotels there and get other perks. They deprive the nation of opportunity to see international matches at home,” said Jalal.

He said that PCB must use the contacts of former cricketers to revive international cricket in Pakistan. A committee comprising former cricketers having good relations within the international cricket community should be formed to bring foreign teams here, he suggested.

“Javed Miandad, Zaheer Abbas and Waseem Akram could persuade cricket teams to visit Pakistan. The diplomacy of our great cricketers can work when PCB officials have failed.       

“One card is still in the hands of PCB. If Test teams are not ready to come here they should organise PSL in Pakistan. The confidence of teams would be restored when they would see international cricketers playing here in PSL,” he said.

He also stressed the need to restore relations with the Indian cricket board.

West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has refused to send its team to Pakistan in March to play three T20 matches in Lahore proposed by Pakistan.