ICC gives PCB a hard rap on the knuckles
Following the spot-fixing fiasco that caught the international media by storm, the ICC has taken some much needed action to normalize the state of affairs of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 cricket. The continuing decline of cricket in a country where the game is widely followed
by millions of fans is indeed a cause of concern for the world governing body of cricket. Pakistan cricket has been plagued by corruption charges and nepotism, not to mention the inept administration under the current chairman. In the last couple of years,
Mr http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ijaz-Butt-c64128 has brought more damage to the game than Jackie the ripper on his killing spree.
He has been unscrupulous, irrational, impulsive, naive and dictatorial during his regime at the PCB where he has ruled carte blanche and everyone from the captain of the team, to the coach, to the team manager to officials within the PCB have been unhappy
with the way he has been barking orders at his subordinates like a wannabe Mussolini.
A two day board meeting with the ICC in Dubai has ensured that the international governing body make their intentions clear to the chairman of the PCB, that if he does not mend his ways, he could be heading towards serious trouble. Failure to revamp and
sort out the administration might result in possible sanctions from the ICC, while the fans back home would be yearning for something more drastic for the man responsible for s******g their beloved sport.
The ICC has now decided that they will be closely scrutinizing the administration of the PCB and the sport in Pakistan. They have also approved extensive measures that require Pakistan to not only root out corruption by following a stringent code of conduct
but also work alongside the ICC task force for Pakistan headed by Giles http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Clarke-c51120, “to carry out any reforms which may be deemed necessary to restore confidence in the administration of the game” in the country.
If read between the lines, these words implicitly refer to the mismanagement of the PCB under Mr. Ijaz Butt who has not only proven that he is qualified in the art of systematic disintegration of institutions through dictatorial policies, but also that he
was a complete failure of a cricketer when he played for his country. His failure as a cricketer is now reflective of his failure as a chairman and basically he has shown all and sundry that he is very good at failing.
Under his regime, Pakistan witnessed for the first time in its history an attack on the Sri Lankan Cricket team who were about to get killed in the middle of a square in Lahore in broad daylight. His tenure as chairman has also seen a law suit against the
ICC, not to mention the gradual disintegration of the national team who have been on a rollercoaster journey from being bad to worse.
The ICC task force on Pakistan was initially formed to simply examine ways to revive international cricket in the country, which hasn’t seen any of it for the last two years and how to help the PCB overcome the subsequent losses faced by the board. However,
due to Mr Butt’s inability to govern, the ICC task force has now been reconstituted and its purpose has been widened to include ways of working and improving the governance of the PCB. Giles Clarke, the chairman of England Cricket Board is said to have played
an important role in broadening the responsibilities of the task force.
Against the backdrop of the apology rendered by the chairman of the PCB of retracting his statement that condemned the England players of taking bribes, the ICC has informed the PCB that “it must act and be seen to be acting to uphold the zero-tolerance
attitude to corruption in sport.” Pakistan has been given a time line of 30 days to conduct a thorough review of the players to establish their integrity and then report back to the task force.
The PCB has been asked to incorporate a domestic anti-corruption code, in line with the ICC’s code. The board has also been asked to initiate an education programme for players, “a proper, accountable and robust disciplinary process for the sport” and a
process that helps in rooting out corruption from the game.
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