Why is the Pakistan Board so defiant?
The world has seen the video tapes of the alleged match-fixing affair that had a real estate agent, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 at Lord’s.
The issue now is that the Pakistan Cricket Board chief, Ejaz Butt has said that the players are innocent till someone proves their guilt. He is probably referring to the legal definition of guilt, given that the tapes may not be admissible in the law of court. However, from a moral stand-point, it would make sense if the PCB suspended the trio – Asif, Amir and Salman Butt – till future investigations reveal that they were not involved in any way.
So, why is the PCB defiant?
The authenticity of tape?
First of all, if one were to look at it legally, there is a chance that the tapes are doctored. The authenticity of the tapes needs to be verified before any charge is brought on to the players. After all, as the sports ministry of Pakistan is now claiming, this could well be a conspiracy to tarnish the name of Pakistan cricket.
Admission of guilt?
The other reason one can think of is that the PCB is worried that the suspending of the three players could imply that they accept that the trio is guilty. That could mean that the PCB will have to spend a fortune in defending the trio if things come to that, and with the dwindling exchequer that the PCB has, it could be an issue.
So, by being adamant about the trio playing in the rest of the series, they are only hoping that there is no incriminating evidence against the players that gets found and the players are not found guilty. However, what the PCB needs to also understand is that the flip side to that is that after defending the players so whole-heartedly, if the players are indeed found guilty, then the egg will be on their face.
Loss of key players
From cricket’s standpoint, the three aforementioned – Asif, Amir and Butt – are the cornerstones of the Pakistani side. If the Pakistani board does send them back to Pakistan without finishing the series, the difficulties will only rise for the side already short on confidence and good batsmen. The loss of two main bowlers – Amir was even the man of the series – will spell doom for their chances in the ODIs and the T20Is.
The question that everyone is asking, though, is whether these players will be in the right frame of mind if they did play?
Something more sinister than meets the eye?
There is a school of thought from some experts which say that the PCB is equally involved with match-fixers back home. It is reported in places that by banning players for alleged match-fixing, they could well be digging their own graves given their own involvement. It is probably the reason why the PCB is defending its players so heart-heartedly, in order that they do not spill the beans against their employers.
What can go against the PCB is that Asif’s former girl-friend has been quoted as saying that she has proof of Asif’s involvement in fixing matches. The ICC’s Anti Corruption and Security Unit has sent its personnel to meet Malik and get any kind of information that may help them with the investigation. The other factor that could go against the PCB is the fact that money was found in Butt’s room, and if the root of the money could be traced, Butt could get into big trouble.
Tags: