Bulldozed: Pakistan cricket is not in safe hands

When shooting in the dark, it is a good idea to use a machine gun. This is what Australian radio legend Craig Bruce once said, probably in one of his podcasts.

It seems the current Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chiefs were among the many listening.

PCB has never really been a professional body, at least not in the last few decades, but it has never been this trigger-happy either.

Since Mohsin Naqvi took over as PCB chairman in February this year, it seems that the Board has been firing in the dark -- with a Kriss Vector in its hands.

Most of the bullets, as always happens when shots are fired in the dark, went to waste. Others have only done damage to the asset that needed to be protected: Pakistan cricket.

"Mohsin-speed"

When Naqvi, who had little or no association with cricket, was brought in to head PCB, his supporters hailed the decision stressing that he is a “doer” who has the knack of doing things with extraordinary speed. They call it: “Mohsin speed”.

Naqvi has proved them right but not in the manner one had hoped for.

It’s hard to imagine that Naqvi came into power just a little more than eight months ago. Because during that short period, a lot has happened. But there is little to cheer about.

The demolition has come at a breakneck speed.

Like a novice Naqvi has orchestrated a trial and error process with the hope that something will work. Under him PCB has made one change after the other but has only managed to dig a deeper grave for Pakistan cricket.

Let’s begin with the Pakistan team.

The Board has tried to fix it but all of it actions have backfired. What happened against Bangladesh, who shocked Pakistan 2-0 in their own backyard, was a clear proof that things were terribly wrong in the country’s cricket. Then the manner in which England trounced the hosts in the first Test in Multan underlined the fact that the players were either unable or unwilling to give their best.

Bangladesh players celebrating after winning the Test series against Pakistan in Rawalpindi.AFP

Player power?

It’s an open secret that several of the country’s top players aren’t too happy with the way PCB is dealing with them.

There is a possibility that some of them could have under-performed against Bangladesh and in the opening Test against England just to give PCB a message.

After all, a show of power from Pakistan’s cricketers isn’t something new. It has happened in the past and it could be happening now.

But the problem is that this current stars in Pakistani team doesn’t have the sort of caliber that can allow it to use such pressure tactics to their own advantage.

Pakistan's Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi during the Test series against Sri Lanka in 2023.AFP

Knowing that, PCB has responded by axing the three most high-profile players from the current line-up – Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah – from the squad selected for the second and third Tests against England.

This could be another one of those shots in the dark. We will know that for sure in the coming days.

The Board has not just tried to fix the team. It has taken upon itself to fix everything. It brought in a head curator from Australia and then only managed to produce a dead pitch in Multan last week. It has brought foreign coaches but the team’s performance continues to go down. It has made a series of changes in the national selection committee and recently even made the unusual move of adding an umpire, still on active duty, to it.

Money to burn?

The Board has also acted as a bulldozer and has demolished two iconic stadiums in Lahore and Karachi and is now racing against time to rebuild them ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy which it is supposed to host next February-March. Unable to pay players’ salaries on time, PCB has allocated a whopping amount (PKR12.8 billion) for the renovation work.

As if it has money to burn, PCB launched a senseless tournament labelled the Champions One-day Cup and decided to pay five cricketer a total of PKR 300 million per annum to act as mentors. It was like throwing precious funds down the drain.

Mentors and captains pose for a picture ahead of the Champions One-Day Cup.PCB

When Naqvi was handpicked by those in power to run Pakistan cricket, many hoped he might provide some temporary relief to the sport which had suffered due to a power tussle between two former chairmen – Najam Sethi and Zaka Ashraf. Many hoped that Naqvi, who was appointed as the country’s interior minister just days after his “election” as PCB chairman, would use his vast authority and expertise to put Pakistan cricket on track before a more qualified person can replace him in the longer run.

But as Craig Bruce said: temporary solutions often become permanent problems.

Khalid Hussain is Sports Editor at Nukta