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Accountability & Anger
Public anger is high in Pakistan over the performance of its cricket team in the World Cup and the response to it by the Pakistan Cricket Board. Preceding the World Cup were a series of flops by the cricket team. But the PCB remained blasé and could not, or would not, take corrective or pre-emptive measures to stem the rot. Deadwood was not weeded out, aging stars continued to be backed, and preferences -- but not performances -- became the apparent criteria.
Cricket in Pakistan is not just a game. It is a projection of national aspirations. 50 years ago, Hector Bolitho wrote in his book, “Jinnah: Creator of Pakistan,” that when the young M.A. Jinnah returned to India from England after becoming a barrister, he returned with a bat and ball and urged the youth in his street to stand up and play the gentleman’s game instead of bending down on dusty grounds playing marbles.
In a time of some despondency, a positive World Cup performance would have come as a welcome shot in the arm for a crisis-weary nation. But it was not to be. What is rankling even dispassionate observers in the public is the gall of the players, the selectors, the managers, and the administrators not to accept responsibility over the manner of their defeat. Public rage this time is palpable and may not be easy this time to shove under the rug.
Simply put, the issue is one of accountability. Those who are responsible for the debacle should be held accountable.
During World War II, those Japanese commanders who ordered kamikaze attacks on US warships themselves committed hara-kiri. No one is advocating such a radical or drastic move in this scenario, but more pertinent, it would be instructive to follow the noble example of England’s captain, Nasser Hussain, who resigned his captaincy from the England one-day squad following his team’s failure to qualify for the final rounds of the World Cup. The entire cricket hierarchy would be blessed and thanked by the nation if it does the decent and honorable thing to simply resign. It would be the best service they would do for the nation. Otherwise, the unmistakable message would go out loud and clear that accountability applies for the powerless and exempts those with connections to the powerful.
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