Politics in sports diagnosed as Pakistan cricket’s problem

Pakistan’s recent disastrous performances in international cricket have sparked debate about the invasion of politics into the sport, with allegations that nepotism at the top is sabotaging success on the field.

Last week, Pakistan fell to eighth, their worst Test ranking in nearly six decades, after a surprise 2-0 home defeat to Bangladesh.

It was the 10th consecutive home Test without a win for the cricket-mad nation and came after humiliating early exits from the 50-over and T20 World Cups over the past year.

The current chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is Mohsin Naqvi, who holds a second full-time job as interior minister in a country grappling with a surge in militant attacks.

In the last two years, Pakistan cricket has gone through four coaches, three committee chairmen, three captains and numerous formats of domestic competition – an instability that experts say is dependent on the whims of politicians.

“It has a knock-on effect on the team’s performance,” said cricket journalist and former PCB media director Ahsan Iftikhar Nagi.

“When there is chaos and chronic instability in board leadership, it is reflected in performance on the ground,” he told AFP.

– ‘Imposed favorites’ –

Cricket is by far the most popular sport in Pakistan, with players celebrated as national heroes, endorsed by major brands and streets emptying during major events.

The sport transcends all divisions of society, giving the game enormous cultural and political cachet in this country of more than 240 million people.

Former Prime Minister Imran Khan launched his political career on the back of his success as an international player, having captained the team to victory in the 1992 ODI World Cup.

He served as prime minister from 2018 to 2022, but is currently imprisoned on charges he says were trumped up to prevent him from running in elections earlier this year.

This week he issued a statement from prison, listing a litany of complaints about his detention and describing cricket’s ills as the result of the same political machinations that he says are hampering it.

“Favourites have been imposed to lead a technical sport like cricket. What are Mohsin Naqvi’s qualifications?” he asked, claiming that Naqvi had “annihilated” the team.

“Nations are destroyed when corrupt and incompetent people are placed in positions of power in state institutions,” he said.

Nepotism and cronyism are endemic in Pakistan. Khan campaigned on an anti-corruption platform but came to power with the help of the military, analysts say.

The national team’s downward spiral also coincided with the former superstar’s tenure, when he chose his own preferred PCB chief and also intervened in the domestic format of the game.

– “No knowledge of the game” –

Najam Sethi, a journalist who was chosen three times to lead the PCB, said the role had become a “sinecure” designed to burnish reputations.

“Generals, judges and bureaucrats, simply for the love of the game – but without any knowledge of the game – were appointed,” he said.

“Also, cricketers with knowledge of the game but no managerial experience have been appointed.”

Pakistan’s last major triumph came in the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy. They have not won a home Test match since February 2021.

Their last notable performance saw them reach the final of the T20 World Cup in 2022. However, at the 2024 event, they were knocked out in the first round after surprise defeats to the United States and Ireland.

The defeat by Bangladesh saw Naqvi – and the system that installed him – come under increased scrutiny in parliament and the press, with calls for his resignation.

“Since 1998, handpicked favourites of the ruling regimes in the country have taken turns at the helm of the PCB to run the game in their own way, only to ruin it,” the Express Tribune said.

“They are busy working on their own respective agendas, which are mainly aimed at saving their skin and their seat, or making big money at the expense of the country’s cricket.”

The incongruity of Naqvi’s two appointments was highlighted when he recently hosted a press conference discussing both a mass casualty militant attack and the game of cricket.

Rana Sanaullah Khan, a close aide to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, appeared to suggest this week that support for the PCB chief was waning at the highest levels.

“It’s his choice” whether to continue or not, he told local news channel ARY. “Both of these jobs are full-time positions.”

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