Pakistan cricket: Swamped with scandals

Spot-fixing: The scandal that is rocking Pakistan

According to former cricket captain and wicketkeeper, Moin Khan, Ijaz Butt’s tenure at the helm of Pakistan cricket Board has been held as the worst one ever. He was elected the chairman of PCB on october 6, 2008 and since then, Pakistan cricket has only sunk lower.

It all started in 2009 when the Sri Lankan team had toured Pakistan. A terrorist attack on the team bus was just the beginning of the problems Pakistan cricket was about to face. The players were left injured, physically and mentally. Pakistan was stripped of hosting rights of the World Cup 2011 and no international cricket was played in the country. Butt even faced problems with the selection committee and the players as well.

As if it wasn’t enough that the chairman of PCB was under fire for match fixing, former captain Salman Butt, fast bowler Mohammed Asif and the emerging talent in Pakistan cricket, Mohammed Ameer fell under the scanner for alleged spot fixing in the test series against England in 2010.

A bookie named Majeed recently claimed that Umar Akmal, Kamran Akmal and Wahab Riaz were also part of the spot fixing scandal. There are speculations regarding Imran Farhat’s involvement too.

Is this the end of Pakistan cricket? With half the team under fire for spot fixing, one would be forced to think so. What needs to be seen is the reason behind players accepting bribes and indulging in corruption. Are they not happy with the pay? Is this their way of protesting against the Board authorities?

Unfortunately, the real issue will never be addressed since the media and fans have short term memories. Mohammad Asif was forgotten when Wahab Riaz rose to the occasion at the World Cup 2011 when a relatively new Pakistan team managed to reach the semi finals. One scandal perishes and another rises. But surely, each one of them is going to be buried like the others were.