Pakistan Cricket in Trouble again!

Posted by Ziad on Aug 29, 2010 in Alerts | 0 comments

Let this be a bad joke… Please… Pretty-Please!

On the morning of August 29, 2010; Sunday, I had finished my Sehri (breakfast in Ramadan) when my mobile phone vibrated. I was a bit surprised because I don’t usually get text messages till after the Fajr Azan. Unaware of the awaiting horror, I read:

PAKISTAN CRICKET TEAM ARRESTED FOR MATCH FIXING, it said.

No way! I replied.

And I logged on to facebook- as do all from my generation at a time of national tragedy. And sure enough the entire generation seemed to be online updating their status. Here are a few that stuck out:

Oh Bhans ki Ice! Pak Cricket ka aik hor rola…

Nice job Pakistan (1 person likes this)

That’s it! I’m not defending our Cricket team anymore : @

Ami made nice sehri today! Thanks mummy (7 people like this)

Pak Cricket Team arrested.

Wth… Yeh match fixing nai ho skti…… Pakistan ka nam badnam kr rhay hai yeh……

I must apologize to those of you who do not know the Urdu language- but I cannot bring myself to translate these. But you get the picture, I’m sure…

Once again, the nation has been embarrassed by a bunch of greedy opportunists that had the privilege of representing the country internationally. I am dreading the cricket reviews that will surely have something to say about this. Once again our morality and integrity as a nation is about to be questioned. This time I cannot come up with an excuse. According to the initial news reports- more than half the team was involved and Salman Butt, the captain, is being called the “ring leader”. The shame! The embarrassment!

And as I finally turned to the prayer mat for the Fajr before I started with this post, I made a mental note to pray that Allah let this be a mistake… let this be a bad joke.

Because, I have always believed in making amends rather than just cursing the culprit- I recommend that Pakistanis take a hard stance on this matter. Pakistan must distance herself from such acts and show that these people do not represent this land. We, the people, must condemn this act on every public forum. The Pakistan Cricket Board is obviously expected to act sternly. They must bring about fair restrictions on the players involved and take steps to avoid such an incident in the future- specially in terms of grooming the newcomers and familiarizing them with the professionalism that is expected of them (yes, I’m thinking about the young and talented Muhammad Aamir- he will be missed by his fans if he is banned). Even the government can help. By taking a principled stance; perhaps, the government should demand for a written explanation or apology before admitting the accused into the country- this step could help show the world that such behaviour from individuals representing the country on any forum will not be tolerated.