NEW DELHI: There has been discussion regarding the intrusion of politics into sports as a result of Pakistan’s dismal recent results in international cricket. It is argued that nepotism at the top is impeding progress on the field.
Last week, following a shocking 0-2 home series loss to Bangladesh, Pakistan dropped to ninth place in the Test rankings-their lowest position in almost sixty years.
It was the nation’s tenth consecutive home Test match without a victory, and it came after the team suffered humiliating early eliminations from the 50-over and T20 World Cups the previous year.
Mohsin Naqvi, the current chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), who also works full-time as the interior minister of a country that is experiencing an increase in terrorist attacks.
Over the last 24 months, Pakistani cricket has seen four different coaches, three different board chairs, three different captains, and multiple domestic competition formats-unpredictability that analysts attribute to political whims.
“This has a knock-on effect on team performance,” said cricket journalist and former PCB media manager Ahsan Iftikhar Nagi.
“When we have chaos and chronic instability within the management of the board it will reflect on-field performances,” he told AFP.
‘Favourites imposed’
Pakistan’s favorite sport is unquestionably cricket, with players hailed as national heroes, sponsored by luxury brands, and packed stadiums for big matches.
With over 240 million people in the country, the sport has great cultural and political cachet because it transcends all social divisions.
After leading his team to win in the 1992 ODI World Cup, former prime minister Imran Khan used his achievements as an international player to launch his political career.
He was prime minister from 2018 to 2022, but he is presently incarcerated on allegations he says were made up to keep him from running in the elections earlier this year.
This Monday, he released a statement from prison in which he detailed numerous grievances over his incarceration and explained how the political intrigues he claims are impeding him are to blame for the problems in cricket.
“Favourites have been imposed to run a technical sport like cricket. What are Mohsin Naqvi’s qualifications?” he asked, claiming Naqvi had “annihilated” the team.
“Nations are destroyed when corrupt and incompetent people are placed into positions of power in state institutions,” he claimed.
In Pakistan, nepotism and favoritism are pervasive. According to commentators, Khan ran on a platform of fighting corruption, but the strong military establishment helped him win the election and into office.
The former superstar’s tenure in government, during which he appointed his own preferred PCB chief and meddled in the local game structure, coincided with the national team’s decline.
‘No knowledge of the game’
Journalist Najam Sethi, who was chosen three times to lead the PCB, claimed the position had become into a “sinecure” meant to boost one’s prestige.
“Generals, judges and bureaucrats, just for a love of the game — but no knowledge of the game — have been appointed,” he said.
“Also, the cricketers with knowledge of the game but no managerial experience have been appointed.”
The 2017 ICC Champions Trophy was Pakistan’s most recent significant victory. They last prevailed in a home Test match in February 2021.
They made it to the 2022 T20 World Cup final, which was their most noteworthy accomplishment. However, they lost shockingly to Ireland and the United States in the first round of the 2024 competition.
Naqvi and the system that installed him have come under heightened scrutiny in parliament and the media following Bangladesh’s defeat, prompting calls for his resignation.
“Since 1998, hand-picked favourites of the respective ruling regimes in the country have taken turns as PCB chairmen to run the game in their own clueless manner, only to ruin it,” the Express Tribune said.
“They are busy working on their own respective agendas, which primarily relate to saving their own skin and seat, or making good money at the expense of the country’s cricket.”
The incongruity of Naqvi’s two appointments became apparent when he presided over a press conference recently where the topics of a mass-casualty militant attack and cricket were discussed.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s close adviser Rana Sanaullah Khan seemed to be hinting this week that support for the PCB chief was eroding at the top.
“It is his choice” whether to continue, he told local news channel ARY. “These two jobs are full-time roles.”