Money, Lies & Betrayal-The Story Of Pakistan Cricket

Gone are the good old days when cricket was played for Pride. Many Legends played the game because they felt it was an honour to represent your country in the game. But, with the advent of  T20, Pride took the backseat and MONEY was talking. Pakistan Cricket has been over the years the most dogged by controversy, be it on the field or off it. Just when they seem to lift themselves up and give solid performances, they are hit with allegations & this has been the case over the past 3 years. The root cause of their problems lies within. The PCB is to blame because they have set a standard that anyone can get away with anything…

Future Heroes???

And now with the fresh spot fixing allegations, the young and talented names who were deemed to be a star for the future have taken a beating. The likes of Amir’s & Akmals who were seen to take Pakistan out of the mess that they already were in have been in the eye of the storm and have been accused. Of course, these are accusations for now but what if they are proved to be true? What will happen to Mohammed Amir who was deemed to be the next Wasim Akram, the Mohammed Asif who was praised for his immaculate length & line bowling, the Akmal brothers who caught the eyes of the spectators with their classy stokeplay, the young captain in Salman Butt…Will they ever be looked upon as a role model now?

It all began in Sydney when Pakistan, who were in a commanding position somehow managed to lose the MATCH. Kamran Akmal dropped a couple of catches for which he was under the scanner. He has been dropping one catch too many ever since. Things were said & done. Few players were banned and some bans were revoked so early that many people did not even know they were banned! Such is the way PCB runs cricket in the country called Pakistan. Nothing is permanent! And now players accused of bowling HUGE no balls purposely? I mean why should even a guy who is being seen as the best do it for whatever the sum of money is? Has money become that important than playing for the country? Pakistan cricket has gotten even more murkier. It will take some cleaning to get back the image and feel among the spectators again. The spectators who are already calling for the heads of these players ever forgive them? It is all to be seen.

I shamelessly accept that i have enjoyed the England vs Pakistan series, it was a series which orchestrated many moments that test cricket is known for. Mohammed Amir seemed to impress with every delivery. But, it is really sad to see such allegations in the fag end of a wonderful series which will now be known for all the wrong reasons cricket is known for than for the beautiful cricket played between the teams.

As an ardent cricket fan, i seriously hope that all these allegations remain allegations forever. ICC should have a closer look into this matter and make sure that things like this never ever happen in future.

Signing Off – A Hurt Cricket Fan 😦