K Mohammed: Abbasi & Burki Blamed For PCB Mess (29 Dec 1995)

Date: 29 Dec 1995

Abbasi & Burki blamed for PCB and cricket mess

Khan Mohammad

After the Zimbabwe team s tour of Pakistan in Dec. 93 the Board of Control for Cricket in Pakistan was superseded during early 1994 by the President of Pakistan. An Ad hoc committee headed by Javed Burki, former captain of Pakistan with Arif Abbasi and Dr Zafar Altaf as the members was formed. This committee continued running the affairs of the board for about 14 months after which it was replaced by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

What necessitated the sacking of the Board with its President the former Chief Justice of Pakistan Dr Nasim Hasan Shah and Honorary Secretary Mr Shahid Rafi is still shrouded in mystery. However the Honorary Treasurer of the same board not only came out unscathed but was elevated to be the member of the Ad hoc committee. It was generally believed that the action against the Board was engineered by Messrs. Arif Abbasi and Javed Burki. Cricketers like me were extremely disappointed to find out that though the names of the Cricket Board had been changed but the three members of the Ad hoc committee took its control with greater authority and all the constitutional backing. Arif Abbasi has manoeuvred for himself the all powerful position of chief executive. Javed Burki is adviser to the President of Pakistan on cricket while Dr Zafar Altaf is the chairman of the selection committee. The position of the President of the Board has been replaced by a ceremonial chairman who has hardly any power except to act like one. The C.E.O. is the hub and centre of authority with an excessively high salary without any check or control except perhaps that of the President of Pakistan and whose adviser happened to be Javed Burki. These two I believe, are cousins.

Isn t it an ideal situation to continue the dubious and questionable activities and dealings which have devastated and destroyed the Pakistan cricket team.

Let me now recount some of their short-sighted policies which have brought anarchy in the Board and the Pakistan and reduced the team to such a sorry state 1. After the conclusion of the tour of the Zimbabwe team in Pakistan, there was a revolt against the captain Wasim Akram by a group of his team mates headed by Waqar Younis (as reported in the press) to remove the former. The Ad hoc committee, instead of taking action against these who were guilty of the action against a duly appointed captain, played into the hands of its perpetrators. Salim Malik was appointed captain as a compromise candidate acceptable to the rebels to avoid and embarrassing situation. It was a sort-sighted policy which encouraged the schemers while the captain was made a hostage to the group who succeeded in renouncing Wasim Akram. 2. The Ad hoc committee and later on the same old trio kept on changing captains and vice-captains and other officials at will. These appointments were dished out perhaps as personal favours. Otherwise how can you constantly keep making such changes if the same were made on merits? Here are some specific examples. Moin Khan was made Pakistan Captain in the last Sharjah Cup who won the match against India but unfortunately he fell sick and had to return home. He was replaced by Rameez Raja against Sri Lanka in Pakis- tan (27 August to 3 October 1995). Wasim Akram was recalled to lead in Australia and NZ while Amir Sohail has been suddenly elevated as a vice-captain. The joke is that all the three were made to play under each other thus creating unnecessary rivalry and friction among the team mates. 3. The managers and coaches, like the captains and vice-captains, have been given short shrift and summarily removed and disgraced. The cases of Majid Khan and Mushtaq are the recent examples. Similarly Intikhab Alam was disgraced after the South Africa/Zimbabwe tour on grounds of inefficiency and weakness of management yet he has been suddenly and mysteriously inducted in the team again for the Australian/NZ tours. 4. Billy Abaadullah was specially hired as an outstanding coach and manager with great fanfare by both the two great cricket brains Javed Burki and Arif Abbasi. But even this arrangement could hardly last one contractual term and that too with lots of controversies regarding payment of money. 5. There is now a recent report in the National/International media that the C.E.O. is going to hire coaches from England because according to him Khan Mohammed is not the best coach. But have I ever claimed in my life-long commitment as a professional coach that I am the best in the world? I have, however, always claimed and entitled to claim that I am one of the most highly qualified and experienced coaches from England and I have continued imparting coaching all my life in many countries of the world including Pakistan. English coaches have got their training exactly where I have done mine. But let me highlight why he wants to hire English coaches on such exorbitantly high charges. His PR and equation with English cricket set up is the reason. That s how he has become a Member of the M.C.C. for which position many top cricketers of Pakistan have NOT been considered. 6. I am a professional coach and I am entitled to the professional fee as much as an English coach. But I have always fulfilled my contractual obligations without any bargaining. I have willingly accepted whatever terms were offered to me as a national duty because I have already given my sweat and blood to the Pakistan team as a spearhead bowler along with Fazal Mahmood and Mahmood Hussain. I carry the same love and loyalty for Pakistan team. But can you say the same about English coaches? Have they been able to produce better cricketers in England than what I produced in Pakistan, Test players like Wasim Akram, Salim Malik, Amir Malik, Ejaz Ahmed, Inzamamul Haq, Aqib Javed, Mushtaq Ahmed, Basit Ali, Asif Mujtaba, Mohsin Kamal etc... I have polished players like Ramiz Raja, Azim Hafiz, Sikander Bakht and a host of other first class cricketers in Pakistan besides creating a big bunch of local coaches to continue the job of coaching in my beloved country.

I have no objection if Pakistani authorities like Arif Abbasi and others who have hardly played first class cricket want to squander money to hire English coaches in foreign exchange and thereby earn the goodwill of English cricket authorities and earn their favours in exchange. But he has no business to malign and underrate me. He can do whatever he likes to damage Pakistan cricket which can easily be judged by our own team s performances since he has been in control in the Board through his political props and by inducting politicians in Pakistan cricket.

In a recent function in honour of England A team now touring Pakistan, he made a statement that in future Pakistan will never let Shakoor Rana and others like him to supervise Test matches in Pakistan. He made these remarks to appease and curry favour with English cricket authorities by denigrating our own umpires and humiliating Pakistan. He has conveniently forgotten that one of our Test class umpires, Khalid Aziz, (a former top grade first class cricketer) complained against Abbasi that he puts pressure on umpires to give patriotic decisions. Mr Arif Abbasi, as usual not only removed him from the panel but got him banned for life. He has also made a statement that he will hire English umpires to coach and impart training to our umpires. 7. Majid Khan, Mushtaq Mohammad and many others close to the PCB complain that Arif Abbasi meddles in every committee and subcommittee including the selection committee. No wonder such lop-sided selections, changes and counter-changes are being effected and hence the obviously predictable poor and degrading performance of our team. 8. While commenting on the judgment of the former Justice Fakhruddin G. Ibrahim declaring Salim Malik Not guilty of the charges made against him by the Australians observed that the alleged charges appeared to be concocted Mr. Arif Abbasi retorted I was expecting strong reaction from the Australian Board because nobody likes being told the truth especially crooked people Instead of using diplomatic language to soften the harsh words his comment served as an icing on the cake. He did not realise the damage that his intemperate words would do to Pakistan team nowadays touring Australia and New Zealand. 9. The enquiry of the charges levelled by the Australian players against Malik was deliberately prolonged inordinately to please the ICC boss and the Australian authorities. 10. It is also commonly know that Arif Abbasi manipulates the media in such a manner that he takes the credit when things are shaping well while others take the blame when his foolish actions backfire and the results produced on the field are far from satisfactory. The rapid changes of captains, vicecaptions, coaches and managers, are bought about to indicate their failings when the team performs poorly.

In a recent press conference in the Cricket Board s HQ at Gaddafi Stadium Lahore on his return from England tour in connection with World Cup, he cleverly briefed them in his typical amiable style that the conjectures about his interference in the affairs of the selection committee are wrong. He impressed upon them that he never interferes in the team selection. Otherwise who does not know that Arif Abbasi does not only meddle in the affairs of the selection committee but other committees also? Who is making and unmaking captains, vicecaptains and other officials? Who appointed the selection committee? There are in fact unending tales of Arif Abbasi s mismanagement in Pakistan Cricket Board and its affairs being regularly reported in the national media. Every body knows who is responsible for bringing gloom and despair in Pakistan cricket, yet there is nobody who is in a position to take him to task due to his very strong political links among the top brass politicians of Pakistan. This is the reason why the former Test cricketers of Pakistan strongly protested and demonstrated against Mr Arif Abbasi prior to and after his appointment as C.E.O. of the PCB Messrs Arif Abbasi and Javed Burki are the two officials of the Board who prolonged the agony of Mr Salim Malik and banned him from playing any competitive cricket even for his departmental team on the pretext that his case is sub judice while delaying the proceedings. By the time Salim was cleared, three captains, two vice-captains and a number of officials were sacked as if they were responsible for all the poor performances of the Pakistan team. It is these two cricketing genii , who destroyed the morale and self-esteem of Pakistani cricketers individually and as a team by their unprofessional and inept handling of the players and the various ticklish problems which confronted them during the period. In the month of March having taken action against Salim Malik, Javed Burki in a statement to the national press proudly mentioned that by taking action against Salim Malik, Pakistan cricket has been saved from becoming an international pariah or an outcast.

In conclusion it is my considered opinion as one of the senior most former Test cricketers and a professional cricket coach that to galvanise Pakistan cricket the first and the foremost action should be to remove Arif Abbasi to be replaced by a highly experienced, enlightened, educated and above all an upright former Test cricketer who is well versed in the complex subjects of administration and management.

Source :: Pakistan Dawn Service