The contest for PCB chairmanship

The intense manoeuvring that goes into the selection of the person in charge at Gaddafi Stadium always makes for some most intriguing viewing.

And in the final analysis, it is indeed amazing how a whole galaxy of people — ambitious men, I should say — known for their competence have chased a post that guarantees the chosen ones little fame and credit but a loud landing in controversy.

It may be different in other parts of the world. For instance, there have been national cricket bosses in India who would rather be remembered as what is a favourite subcontinental political term for an all-powerful authority: the supremo. 

In Pakistan, the chief of the country’s cricket board can never hope to avoid sullying his name — but the often over-enthusiastic incumbent has never been considered worthy of being celebrated even in a moment of unprecedented triumph.

Here’s a test. Even his current detractors would know that we don’t actually have to name him to remember the skipper of the national side who brought us the biggest cricketing honour in 1992 — the world cup.

 With a little bit of straining of mind, many of us will recall the image of Intikhab Alam completing his winning sprint in Melbourne on that auspicious day of March. Yes, we know who headed the government in Pakistan at the time. But who headed the country’s cricket board back then? Who cares?

Alternately, the board’s chairman has been repeatedly found at the receiving end of popular ire when there have been failures. These dark moments include not just defeats out in the field, but routinely the board chiefs have been held squarely responsible for not performing tasks beyond their means and jurisdiction.

For instance, while everyone must understand the factors behind lack of bilateral games between Pakistan and India, the man heading the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is conveniently blamed over his widely-perceived ‘inability’ to make our hostile neighbours submit to our wishes of having a match with us. 

By contrast, the PCB head is seldom ever given due credit for pulling off a difficult job. The initiation of the Pakistan Super League or PSL in the most trying circumstances is a case in point.

The supporters of Chaudhry Zaka Ashraf and Najam Aziz Sethi may have their own PSL heroes. Sethi perhaps packs more dash in his delivery but Chaudhry has his admirers crediting him with conceiving the indigenous PSL albeit on the pattern of the existing international model. 

The two gentlemen have been competing to head the PCB in the recent past, and in this instance, the quiet composure of Ashraf, among ‘the last few good men the PPP is left with in Punjab’ has won the battle.

Sethi conceded the fight in a statesmanly manner on Twitter: “Salaam everyone! I don’t want to be a bone of contention between Asif Zardari and Shehbaz Sharif. Such instability and uncertainty is not good for PCB. Under the circumstances I am not a candidate for chairmanship of PCB. Good luck to all stakeholders.’’

Sethi was the nucleus responsible for all the important affairs of the board and summing up the situation, one report said: 

“The PPP has been pushing for Ashraf pointing out that Sethi was brought in as a chairman of the cricket management committee to run PCB affairs and hold fresh elections and restore the 2014 constitution. They said it would be a conflict of interest if he contested the elections, while Sharif had indicated Sethi would continue. Sharif, in fact, recently twice held meetings with Sethi which indicated Zaka would not be nominated by the Premier for the chairman’s elections.”

It was also reported that as a partner in the federal coalition, the mysteriously coveted slot of the PCB chief had to go to the PPP from its quota. That could well have been the case, but Sethi not managing to brandish his old ‘progressive’ streak in acquiring the necessary blessings from Asif Zardari for sure bagging of the PCB trophy is an event that should not pass without comment.

It has to be either of the two — the old friend of friends, Zardari, sees a big enough negative in Sethi that deters the PPP leader against his famous urge to be generous in lavishing favours on whoever has been close to him. Or Chaudhry is just too dear to Zardari.

In any case, this has to be some kind of a turnaround, if, like all bad names and terms, we must shun use of a U-turn here. 

Only a few elections ago, when Sethi was picked as the caretaker chief minister of Punjab, some banking on conventional info were ready to believe that the arrangement could, in fact, favour the PPP, which was well into its dark phase in the province. 

They failed to predict the progressive tilt of not just people but generally also opinion-makers towards the Pakistan Muslim League-N and its ‘revolutionarized’ leader, Mian Nawaz Sharif.

As simple misunderstandings go, this one, which failed to foresee Sethi as ultimately a natural partner of the born-again Nawaz Sharif, must be among the most spectacular misses by our generation. 

It must rank right up there with the incredibly simple belief that makes competent, well-reputed men pursue titles so temporary and so permanently damaging as that of the PCB chief. Before we know it, we could be looking for a replacement here.

The writer is a senior journalist.

Disclaimer: The viewpoints expressed in this piece are the writer's own and don't necessarily reflect Geo.tv's editorial policy.

Originally published in The News