After a long and anxious spell of waiting a wonderful decision has come to cheer the cricket lovers. The fifty days during which the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) remained without a chairman were full of speculations. Considering the PCB as an orphan during this period, the federal ministry of sports left no stone unturned to create its hegemony over a sports body which has a treasure chest big enough to open the eyes of those who control the destiny of sports in the country.
They were also awe inspired by the publicity and projection that it provided to the officials in addition to the unlimited foreign trips. They perhaps did not realize that the luxuries became the common traits only during the last decade when the PCB was ruled entirely by non-technocrats. Little attention was paid to the game itself with the result that the performance of our cricket team touched the rock bottom.
With the ouster of the dictator President whose cronies reigned over the cricket affairs, a change towards the better was obvious. Ijaz Butt’s name as the most suitable person for the job of PCB chief was the first to appear in the media but some how placed in the suspended animation for all these days. The delay created all sorts of rumours, speculations and fears about some politicians, bureaucrats and others being considered for the job. This created a wave of despondency among the cricket lovers who firmly believed that dilapidated condition of Pakistan cricket could only be improved by a person form the field of cricket. This was a common demand of millions of cricket fans in the country.
Thank God, President Asif Ali Zardari and his advisors realizing righteousness of the cause and showing regard for the sentiments of the nation have taken the right decision. I have known Ijaz Butt for over 30 years now. Apart from his brief career as a Test cricketer, he has been a distinguished cricket administrator during the past three decades.
He was president of the Lahore City Cricket Association (LCCA) for a long time. During this period he was also a member of the PCB council that planned and took major decisions for efficient functioning of the PCB and successful performance of the Pakistan cricket team. Associated with the PCB so closely, he also held the all-important jobs of a selector, coach and manager of the team.
He took over from me as secretary (chief executive officer) of the board and held the coveted appointment for a few years. Above everything else, having been an active member of Nasim Ashraf’s advisory council he is fully conversant with all the ills that prevail in the PCB. All this combined together turns a person into a competent cricket administrator or you may call him a wizard in the game’s administration – and that is what Ijaz Butt is.
Running Pakistan cricket was made a ‘one-man show’ by non-technocrats who ruled cricket during the last decade. They twisted the PCB constitution to suit their own interests bestowing the king’s powers on the chairman. Some vital clauses of the constitution like, (1): captain will be appointed by the PCB council, (2): manager will be appointed by the council, (3): teams touring abroad will be approved by the council, (4): financial powers of the chairman will be fixed by the council and a procedure laid down for expenditure.
All these clauses were eliminated in the new constitution to make the chairman all-powerful with no accountability. As a result of such a mutilation of a sacred document, the mode of governing the PCB changed from democracy to dictatorship. The orientation was more towards luxuries, foreign tours, the appointment of near and dear ones in the board on lucrative financial terms and other things of this nature. Cricket received a low priority.
Ijaz Butt will inherit multifarious problems which he will have to face with resolute courage and full determination. Clearing the mess created by his predecessors is a stupendous task. The biggest challenge would be to revive the dwindling strength of our cricket team that has touched the rock bottom. This is essential to raise Pakistan’s lost prestige in cricket world. We wish IUjaz Butt, the best of luck in his endavours to rebuild Pakistan’s cricket. We will come out with some practical suggestions once he is set on the job.