An amateur in a professional world

Adios General. You came, you saw, and you bombed out. I want to find words of praise for your tenure, but I struggle. The best I can manage is that I believe you meant well - as do many others. I want to catalogue your many achievements as chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board. Genuine contributions to Pakistan cricket, not the silly curriculum vitae that the cricket board distributed on your departure. I find little to cheer.

It matters not what you did or did not achieve as an army general, your role in Pakistan's nuclear strategy, or your peace-time medals. It matters not whether or not you played cricket well or badly in your youth. What matters is your legacy to Pakistan cricket, because you had a free hand and a secure tenure, unlike many of your predecessors. You had manna from heaven - match-fixing and dismal results - to justify your agenda for change. You had the public's support and desperation for a better system. You were in the right place at the right time - but you were the wrong man. We had great expectations of you and your mandate, but you failed us.

Bowing to the will of foot-soldiers is not the behaviour of a general, yet you allowed Pakistan's cricketers to run the show, even in their days of decadence and self-serving myopia. You procrastinated over genuine changes in policy, procrastination that would have brought a swift death on the battlefield but meant a lingering expiration on the cricket field. You backed the wrong horses through thick and thin. Why? Aamer Sohail, Richard Pybus and Waqar Younis, as chairman of selectors, coach and captain, were horribly miscast in those roles.

I will say again, you meant well. You wanted the best for Pakistan cricket, and you needed people with the same conviction. You failed to find them, instead taking counsel from people who steered you wrong. As head of Pakistan cricket you were employed for your judgment, and I'm sorry to say that your judgment failed you. Perhaps you never had it in the first place. Perhaps you were a half-informed enthusiast in a business for professional executives. Remember that in the land of the blind the one-eyed man is king.

Pakistan fans deserved better than the constant chopping and changing - captains, coaches, selectors came and went. Pakistan fans expected more than devaluation of the currency that is an international cap - novices, chancers, and redundant talents donned the green and gold. Pakistan fans wanted a real vision, not just talk of one. Great leadership is based on values, General, and in four years we never discovered what your values were. Pakistan fans wanted a system of transparency and accountability. One benefit of our modern world is that when you act locally you are judged globally. This can only be good for Pakistan's systems of governance.

Instead of developing, Pakistan became the laughing stock of international cricket - all talk of talent and no results. Imran Khan and Javed Miandad led us out of the wilderness: you helped us wander back into it. Our most embarrassing World Cup finally gave you the courage to put Pakistan cricket back on the right track - look how quickly fortune has turned despite your misguided chairman of selectors.

It would be churlish to ignore your achievements, though, because there were some. You robustly supported Shoaib Akhtar through his throwing bans, fragile fitness, and late-night binges. You promoted a rethink in Pakistan's domestic cricket, and you encouraged the formation of academies and scouting for regional talent. But you fired so many salvos that some were bound to hit the target.

Still, your ultimate failure was one of management. You were responsible for four years of poor decision-making. The man at the top carries the can - that is how any organisation works - but you were ever-reluctant to go. Even your timing makes little sense, unleashing a period of uncertainty with India on the horizon. Now you depart, it seems, more to allow your son a chance at an uncontroversial career than for the betterment of Pakistan cricket. That says it all.

Who can know who will follow? Khalid Mahmood, Arif Abbasi (no relation), Ramiz Raja, even Imran or Majid Khan? Pakistan cricket and the whims of the president are too unpredictable to hazard a guess. But what is needed is someone with a clear vision. A dynamic leader, a man of judgment, and a professional. The time for well-meaning amateurism is over. Adios General. I trust it isn't hasta la vista.