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Former Pakistan captain Javed Miandad believes Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Nasim Ashraf should keep a ‘hands-off’ role for himself and take steps to implement the Board’s new constitution as soon as possible, writes Khalid Hussain.

“The prevailing ad-hocism in the PCB is affecting our cricket like a virus and this system has to be scrapped as soon as possible to save the game from a complete disaster,” Miandad told ‘The News’.

In a candid interview, Miandad spoke on various issues ranging from the PCBís ongoing drive to bring in ‘corporate culture’ in the Board to the proposed overhauling of the country’s domestic cricket structure.

Miandad, counted among Pakistan’s all-time greats, minced no words in rejecting claims by top Board officials that were promoting a corporate culture in the PCB as mere lip service, saying that people like Ashraf were barking under the wrong tree.

“I don’t know what corporate culture they are talking about. If having so many directors with fat salaries in the Board is what corporate culture is all about then I’m sorry to say that the PCB officials are going on a wrong path.”

Miandad said that the solution of most of Pakistan cricket’s problems would be the implementation of a new constitution. “You cannot run cricket on an ad-hoc basis. A proper system can only come in place if the PCB is run according to its constitution.”

Miandad stressed that once a proper system is in place, a chairman would have a minimal role in routine PCB affairs. “Once you have the PCB constitution implemented, it would no more be a one-man show and the chairman will have no value. I strongly feel that it would be a boost for Pakistan cricket, if such a development does take place because right now it is going through a very sensitive phase.”

The former batting star pointed out that in the current set-up, even the PCB top officials didn’t know for how long they would last. “Even Nasim Ashraf doesn’t know about the length of his own tenure. This is the kind of uncertainty that prevails in Pakistan cricket.”

Miandad, who played 124 Tests and 233 ODIs for Pakistan in an illustrious career that spanned over twenty years, said that when he started playing for Pakistan more than thirty years back, the Board was run by a small team of honorary officials and did a ‘much better job’ than today’s PCB that spends tens of millions of rupees on the monthly salaries of its employees.

“If today the Board has billions of rupees in its bank account, it doesn’t mean that they have the right to waste precious funds. Even today there are millions of youngsters in our country who can’t even afford to buy cricket bats and balls. They PCB funds should be spent on those youths.”

Miandad took a swipe at PCB’s plans to marginalise departmental competitions saying that such a step would be the last nail in Pakistan cricket’s coffin. “You cannot scrap the departments from our domestic structure. They have been feeding the cricketers, providing them with jobs for decades. Without their support the story of Pakistan hockey would be repeated in cricket as well.”

He said that over the last seven or eight years, the PCB, under ad-hoc rule, has spent around 180-200 million rupees on lifting the standard of domestic cricket without achieving any concrete results. On the subject of a new national cricket coach, Miandad said that he wanted to make it crystal clear that ‘I am not interested in the job’.

“I have been misquoted in an interview which suggested that I’m interested in becoming the national coach. I just want to say that I didn’t even apply for the job and that should be enough proof of my lack of interest in the assignment.”

Miandad, who turns fifty later this month, has coached Pakistan in the past and also emerged as a possible candidate to replace Bob Woolmer after the Englishman’s death in Jamaica during the World Cup in March.

However, the PCB made it clear that it wanted to hire and a young and computer-savvy coach seemingly closing the doors on Miandad, who is openly against ‘too much reliance on technology’.

“I don’t think you can coach a player who is already playing Test cricket for Pakistan,” he said. “No man, even if he is equipped with a computer or two can to do it. What you need is a person who has himself played good cricket, has the experience and commands respect among the players as a father figure. You need somebody who can keep the team united and focused.”

Miandad said that the ‘current Board officials make me feel as if I am an enemy of Pakistan’. “All I want to do is to give good advise for the sake of Pakistan cricket,” he said. “I’ve played for Pakistan at the highest level and feel for our cricket. I believe it is my duty to show them (PCB) the right path because I have the experience. I have seen 25 Boards come and go and know what I’m talking about.”
Source:The News