Two significant developments had kept the whole of Pakistan glued to television on Tuesday.
Two significant developments had kept the whole of Pakistan glued to television on Tuesday.
The country’s federal interior minister Rehman Malik was desperately finalising a strategy to free abducted Pakistanis from the custody of Somali pirates. The second was, of course, the homecoming of 80-year-old Pakistani Dr Khalil Chishty, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in India for an alleged involvement in a murder in 1992.
In between, the country was equally curious about another story being unfolded across the border.
The IPL spot-fixing expose was the lead in top Pakistan news channels such as Waqt and Geo. Until 6.30 in the evening, as many as 32 channels were waiting for a “big name” to emerge.
The general feeling in Pakistan was that IPL had always been “above the law” and a revelation of this kind was only expected.
Sarfraz Nawaz, never short of an opinion on cricket corruption, is believed to have launched a tirade against the Indian cricket board. He has said that the ICC is too feeble a body to intervene since it has always been under the thumb of the BCCI. But, he reminded, that had any Pakistan cricketer been involved, the game’s governing body would have launched an inquiry by now.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Cricket Board officials have been silent on the issue. They are unwilling to offend the BCCI who only recently cleared Pakistan’s decks for the CL T20.
Later in the day, readers peppered the website of Dawn with vitriolic comments. One post read: “This news has ineluctably proven that the high profile IPL is nothing but a showcase for gamblers, betting and film stars. However, one has to give credit where due, that it is exciting to watch the matches. But since India is an emerging super power with mountains of money, the ICC will become a ‘limp-wrist’ where justice is concerned.”
Another reader remarked: “Even if any player is found guilty of this act, nothing will happen as long as they are not Pakistanis.”
However, some former Pakistan cricketers insist that T20 is ripe for corruption, a view endorsed by Tim May, as FICA boss, two years ago.
Former middle-order batsman Basit Ali said, “Fixing is rampant not just in India and Pakistan, but wherever cricket is played. It’s precisely why I quit the sport. I was restless, for the sensed that something was not right and I felt powerless to change it. But it’s unfair to malign the IPL. Only a few players have brought the tournament to disrepute. So to say that India is the hub of cricket corruption is wrong, just as it’s unjust to blacklist Pakistan because of one spot-fixing episode in England.”
He feels that the Indian cricket board is making a mistake by not having an experienced cricketer on their anti-corruption panel. Ali said, “I wonder why they haven’t roped in an ex-cricketer on its anti-corruption bureau, somebody such as Sunil Gavaskar for instance. Only those who’ve played at the highest level can gauge a player’s body language. Also, we tend train our suspicion on bowlers. Nobody asks why a stroke-player has played out a maiden in a crunch situation.”
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