Why is Pakistani cricket such a mess?

[Craig]

I can see that working a treat when Barack Obama announces that US troops will land in Islamabad and take things from there.

 

[SaeedAnwar]

Its precisely this sort of feeling/opinion within Pakistan that makes you susceptible to dictators and regimes.
No-one is going to 'solve' your problems for you. Its the tough path that pakistanis will have walk themselves. Why would you want someone else's version of Pakistan?

How can we fix our problems when our hands are tied by these corrupt politicians and the army that basically runs the country and does nothing for the country expect make it unsafer by killings its own people in the north. Its either being conqured by someone that will benifit us or we have to break down ourselves completly and start from scratch as a new country, but unforunatly i dont see the later happening even in my dreams

 

[Faisal1985]

As with Zimbabwe, a failed, or failing, state doesn't produce a stable cricket team and infrastructure. It's a very minor symptom of what is a major tragedy for the people in those countries.

Big difference in Pak and Zim in terms of how much they are failing....

 

[Faisal1985]

Better question is: Why, despite all the ridiculous antics of players and administrators, does cricket continue to be a popular sport in Pakistan?

Because it is a monopoly. Cricket is the most popular sport there by a massive margin. Pakistani cricket doesn't need competent administrators. The PCB is a guaranteed monopoly. There is no franchise that can be taken from them. There is no threat of relegation for bad performances.

Now I'm no free market fundamentalist. Far from it. But comparing PCB to an unproductive and inefficient monopoly is quite apt. Now compare the PCB to Cricket Australia and see the differences. But Australia has one of the most competitive, if not the most competitive, sports markets in the world. Cricket, Aussie Rules, Rugby Union, Rugby League, football, basketball and hockey. Our national teams are ranked in the top 20 for football, cricket, rugby, basketball and hockey AND the two most popular winter sports Rugby League and Aussie Rules are not even international sports (unless you count rugby league which has 3 competitive teams).

If Cricket Australia ran cricket in Australia like the PCB then the game would have died off. Sponsors would have dropped it. Free to air TV would have ditched it and at best it would have been tucked away on Pay TV.

Best thing to happen to Pakistani cricket would be for another sport to come along and rival it and force the administrators to put the best interest of the game ahead of their own interests. Competition does force companies, or in this case a governing body, to be more competent.

Spot on!

 

[Faisal1985]

I believe that hockey is reasonably popular in Pakistan, although not to the same level as cricket. But does it suffer from the same administrative faults that cricket does in Pakistan?

Same problems for Hockey. Our hockey team used to be top ranked in the world. When this mess in PCB really started to expand, a lot of people were saying same thing is going to happen to Cricket that happened to Hockey....

 

[Faisal1985]

Its precisely this sort of feeling/opinion within Pakistan that makes you susceptible to dictators and regimes.
No-one is going to 'solve' your problems for you. Its the tough path that pakistanis will have walk themselves. Why would you want someone else's version of Pakistan?

Your post = Hard Work, Sacrifice, temporary pain, protest, toppling of gov....all in all we will have to get our butts outside our homes and actually work as a unit....

Ain't happenin in Pak.....forget it....

 

[Fusion]

Better question is: Why, despite all the ridiculous antics of players and administrators, does cricket continue to be a popular sport in Pakistan?

Because it is a monopoly. Cricket is the most popular sport there by a massive margin. Pakistani cricket doesn't need competent administrators. The PCB is a guaranteed monopoly. There is no franchise that can be taken from them. There is no threat of relegation for bad performances.

Now I'm no free market fundamentalist. Far from it. But comparing PCB to an unproductive and inefficient monopoly is quite apt. Now compare the PCB to Cricket Australia and see the differences. But Australia has one of the most competitive, if not the most competitive, sports markets in the world. Cricket, Aussie Rules, Rugby Union, Rugby League, football, basketball and hockey. Our national teams are ranked in the top 20 for football, cricket, rugby, basketball and hockey AND the two most popular winter sports Rugby League and Aussie Rules are not even international sports (unless you count rugby league which has 3 competitive teams).

If Cricket Australia ran cricket in Australia like the PCB then the game would have died off. Sponsors would have dropped it. Free to air TV would have ditched it and at best it would have been tucked away on Pay TV.

Best thing to happen to Pakistani cricket would be for another sport to come along and rival it and force the administrators to put the best interest of the game ahead of their own interests. Competition does force companies, or in this case a governing body, to be more competent.

That’s a really good analysis. As far as the monopoly being broken up, that is highly unlikely. There is no other sport in Pakistan (hockey included) that is even near the popularity level of cricket. It would take 2 to 3 generations of sustained efforts to prop up another sport to rival cricket, and even that’s a long shot. So we’re stuck with the PCB and their monopoly over the single most popular activity in all of Pakistan. The only way to fix the problems is to somehow fix the administration of cricket. PCB is run by corrupt and incompetent politicians. PCB needs to be separated from the government’s supervision. It needs to be a somewhat private entity that is run by people accountable to a board. If it’s run like a business (which is what the global game of cricket has become after all), then it would be run more competently. How to achieve all of this is beyond me. I don’t think things will change in the near future.

 

[Faisal1985]

That’s a really good analysis. As far as the monopoly being broken up, that is highly unlikely. There is no other sport in Pakistan (hockey included) that is even near the popularity level of cricket. It would take 2 to 3 generations of sustained efforts to prop up another sport to rival cricket, and even that’s a long shot. So we’re stuck with the PCB and their monopoly over the single most popular activity in all of Pakistan. The only way to fix the problems is to somehow fix the administration of cricket. PCB is run by corrupt and incompetent politicians. PCB needs to be separated from the government’s supervision. It needs to be a somewhat private entity that is run by people accountable to a board. If it’s run like a business (which is what the global game of cricket has become after all), then it would be run more competently. How to achieve all of this is beyond me. I don’t think things will change in the near future.

I would actually like to see Imran run PCB. He is a big fan of Australian Cricket System and if he can some how manage to make the necessary amendments in the PCB constitution and have the future PCB chairmen being elected rather then nominated then that would be a huge break through...

 

[Xuhaib]

I think its a big myth when people say Pakistan has no proper cricket infra, in Karachi alone there are 132 cricket clubs with atleast halve having a youth system.Given how Pakistan dominates youth tournaments it shows the intial raw material which is being provided to the FC system by these clubs is pretty good.Its at the FC level where things are going wrong and its only PCB who is responsible for the FC cricket and no one else

 

[Faisal1985]

I always wonder why can't the ICC put some pressure on PCB to get its act together or face penalties for lack of competency? ICC should have some sort of enforcing power where it can discipline a Cricket Board. After all Pakistan Cricket needs ICC membership to play any int'l cricket what so ever.

 

[GotSpin]

As with Zimbabwe, a failed, or failing, state doesn't produce a stable cricket team and infrastructure. It's a very minor symptom of what is a major tragedy for the people in those countries.

Wouldn't call Pakistan a failed state.

It's a fragile state if anything

 

[sirdj]

Your post = Hard Work, Sacrifice, temporary pain, protest, toppling of gov....all in all we will have to get our butts outside our homes and actually work as a unit....

Ain't happenin in Pak.....forget it....

It is said that great change begins in the minds of people.

 

[sirdj]

How can we fix our problems when our hands are tied by these corrupt politicians and the army that basically runs the country and does nothing for the country expect make it unsafer by killings its own people in the north. Its either being conqured by someone that will benifit us or we have to break down ourselves completly and start from scratch as a new country, but unforunatly i dont see the later happening even in my dreams

I disagree with the notion of your hands being tied. Tougher & meaner regimes have been brought down elsewhere. What one man can do so can another.

 

[Sir Alex]

A large portion of people are getting tutored in madrassas in both India and Pak. I think that's a severe impediment for growth, tolerance and development not to mention the increased propensity to be brainwashed by devious so called religious ****heads.

I agree with someone who said it has to start in the family.

 

[honestbharani]

In addition to what Xuhaib has said (which i completely agree with), there is certainly an issue of illiteracy in Pakistan as well. To me it seems like that the culture of Pakistan has changed for the worst and cricket players, irrespective of how talented they are, are a direct reflection of that culture. This culture is full of people, who have next to no education and poverty and unemployment has led them to indulge in illegal activities, drugs, fraud etc. Ofcourse i hate to say these things about my beloved country but unless the problem is properly realized it won't be solved.

This is only cricket, you will not have to dig deep in Pakistan politics to see how messed up things are. We have a defense minister who is convicted of corruption by the SC i think, but since the president happens to come from the same political party he has waved off the punishment and the minister remains intact in his position. Nothing against PPP or any other political party but things like this exist. Same thing with the PML N or any other party, at least 70-80 percent of the parliamentarians of Pakistan are either accused or some how involved in corruption (perhaps an understatement). God knows how many have fake degrees like Dasti.

Overall, i say its a collective cultural problem that players/politicians etc. turn out this way. Morality and Ethics and desire of social service is far gone. Players in other countries when given a test cap label it as the best moment of their life or some where around there and in Pakistan players like Umar Akmal who (again irrespective how talented) fake an injury to not play, on top of that their elder brothers tell them to do that instead of stopping them from doing such stupidity.

Until the ruling elite is brought to some stiff checks and balances, Pakistani economy will continue to deteriorate further and unemployment will simply lead to the young generation of Pakistan to become more or less homeless crack heads. It is very sad to be honest...

you know, those statements about Pakistan's politics... sounds a lot like India, tbh..



We have a CM of a state who has actually been convicted of homicide..

 

[honestbharani]

Better question is: Why, despite all the ridiculous antics of players and administrators, does cricket continue to be a popular sport in Pakistan?

Because it is a monopoly. Cricket is the most popular sport there by a massive margin. Pakistani cricket doesn't need competent administrators. The PCB is a guaranteed monopoly. There is no franchise that can be taken from them. There is no threat of relegation for bad performances.

Now I'm no free market fundamentalist. Far from it. But comparing PCB to an unproductive and inefficient monopoly is quite apt. Now compare the PCB to Cricket Australia and see the differences. But Australia has one of the most competitive, if not the most competitive, sports markets in the world. Cricket, Aussie Rules, Rugby Union, Rugby League, football, basketball and hockey. Our national teams are ranked in the top 20 for football, cricket, rugby, basketball and hockey AND the two most popular winter sports Rugby League and Aussie Rules are not even international sports (unless you count rugby league which has 3 competitive teams).

If Cricket Australia ran cricket in Australia like the PCB then the game would have died off. Sponsors would have dropped it. Free to air TV would have ditched it and at best it would have been tucked away on Pay TV.

Best thing to happen to Pakistani cricket would be for another sport to come along and rival it and force the administrators to put the best interest of the game ahead of their own interests. Competition does force companies, or in this case a governing body, to be more competent.

Completely AWTA.. And as an aside, it applies to India as well.. Every word of it.

 

[Xuhaib]

things are bad in Pakistan byt some of the stuff from Saeed,Burgey,Matt has been over the top.

 

[AaronK]

freaking unbelievable..

Tribunal lifts Shoaib Malik's one-year ban | Pakistan Cricket News | Cricinfo.com

PCB is making a fool out of pakistani cricket fans..

 

[Xuhaib]

freaking unbelievable..

Tribunal lifts Shoaib Malik's one-year ban | Pakistan Cricket News | Cricinfo.com

PCB is making a fool out of pakistani cricket fans..

madhouse

 

[Xuhaib]

they simply don't know how to get legal details right.Any lawyer can come around and pick them to pieces this was always on the cards.