Nigeria Content Online

The corruption
scandal that exploded this week is the latest damaging blow to Pakistan
cricket and former players fear it could be the one that finally
crushes the credibility of the sport in the South Asian nation.

Over the last few
years, ball-tampering accusations, doping scandals, security problems
and dressing room intrigues have all contributed to a volatile cricket
culture without severely denting the popularity of the game among
Pakistanis.

However, the
British police investigation into allegations that players Salman Butt,
Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif took bribes to fix incidents during the
fourth test against England last week looks like stretching that
loyalty to its limits.

“We have one of the worst cricket systems in place,” former test captain Aamir Sohail told Reuters.

Sohail and his
fellow former captain Javed Miandad fear this latest scandal might be
the straw that breaks the camel’s back for Pakistan’s millions of
cricket fans.

“I think even the people have had enough of this indiscipline in the team,” Miandad said.

Political interference

Political analyst
Kamran Khan believes Pakistan is so regularly haunted by controversy
largely because of political interference in the running of the game.

The country’s president is chief patron of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and has the authority to appoint its chairman.

“In no country does the president or prime minister appoint someone to head a sports body,” he said.

“In Pakistan merit
is ignored when appointing people to run the board and they remain
unaccountable and that is root cause of the problems we see in our
team.”

In March, the board
banned and fined seven players for indiscipline and misconduct on the
Australian tour but political clout as well as public and government
pressure saw five return to the national team after just three months.

Imran Khan, who led
Pakistan to a World Cup triumph in 1992 and is now a politician,
believes the problems of Pakistani society are reflected in the cricket
set-up.

“When the players
see corrupt politicians in governance, when they see people pardoned in
financial scams, they think we can also get away with this,” he said.

“Unfortunately this
scandal has come as a demoralising blow for many Pakistanis, wherever I
go people ask me what is going on, it is a heartbreaking situation.”

Even though
security issues have meant no home international cricket for the last
17 months, thousands of fans still pack the stadiums for the national
Twenty20 tournament.

As further
testament to the game’s importance, even reporting of the floods which
have killed more than 1,600 people and made at least six million
homeless has been sidelined by coverage of the cricket scandal over the
last few days.

“Cricket is one
thing that still binds together the Pakistani people, who have to cope
regularly with major problems like terrorism, rising inflation,
religious intolerance and now these devastating floods,” cricket
analyst Saad Shafqat added.

Talented players

The country also
continues to produce a string of talented players, among them the trio
at the centre of the allegations currently being investigated.

Songs berating the
players and officials and hot-tempered discussions have dominated the
airwaves in Pakistan with one lawmaker demanding the players be brought
home in handcuffs.

Pakistan cricket
has always been a passionate affair, however, with victories sparking
all-night celebrations and defeats prompting sometimes violent
reactions.

Even if the
allegations prove to be unfounded and the fans remained loyal, the
scandal would do nothing to improve Pakistan cricket’s reputation
outside the country, said another former captain.