The Ejaz Butt era is over

On Tuesday, 12 October 2011, cricket fans across Pakistan  heaved a sigh of relief as the circulating rumours about Ejaz Butt, chairperson of Pakistan Cricket Board, being given an extension were laid to rest. Butt’s three-year tenure had officially ended on 8 October and the official notice from the presidency confirmed that Butt would not be continuing his role at the PCB. He will be replaced by banker and industrialist Chaudhry Zaka Ashraf.

Ejaz Butt's tenure with the PCB was marked with some of the wildest controversies in the history of Pakistan cricket. Numerous allegations were hurled against him repeatedly which ranged from nepotism to outright incompetency. The accusations against Butt were not without merit. Pakistan's cricket went from one low to another in the three years Butt was in charge, mostly due to his impulsive and egotistical decisions.

President Zardari's appointment of Ejaz Butt as the PCB's chairperson was a political move. Being a close friend of the president and brother-in-law of Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar, Butt was allowed to complete his tenure amidst a swirl of disasters. These disasters, which caused a lot of damage to the country's cricket, included the terrorist attacks on Sri Lankan team which led to Pakistan losing the hosting rights of World Cup 2011, defamatory comments by Butt about the cricket council in the US being an illegal body, his allegations that English cricket players had fixed to lose a one-day match against Pakistan at Oval, and his long-running tiff with Javed Miandad whom he had originally hired for a shady position without any contract or TOR.

But above all, the biggest flaw in Butt’s style of management was the dictatorial role he maintained with the players who had brought fame to country. Rifts with Younis Khan, Shahid Afridi and Muhammad Yousuf, while playing favourites with what is called “Punjab lobby,” wrecked havoc with the team’s performance. If anything, the fact that they performed despite the shenanigans of an egotistical chairperson was a testament to their resilience and talent.

Butt's tenure led to the PCB getting increasingly isolated internationally, and his unpopularity soared at home. Even with demonstrative impulsiveness by changing at least ten captains in three years and multiple calls for resignation by the country's legislatures, neither did Butt learn from his mistakes and nor was he removed. One can only be thankful that his tenure was not extended this time around.

Chaudhry Zaka Ashraf, the man who has now taken over the reins at the PCB is no less a political appointee. Having studied with President Zardari in college, Ashraf is currently serving as the president of Zarai Taraqiati Bank. Though his tenure ended last month, he was allowed to continue through a finance department notification. He has no cricket experience except the fact that the bank's team plays in domestic cricket.

Even his stint at the Zarai Taraqiati Bank is riddled with controversies. Immediately after his appointment as president in 2008, the State Bank of Pakistan declared him unfit to hold office. The intra-court appeal Ashraf filed after his appointment was declared illegal by the Rawalpindi bench of Lahore High Court. The appeal is still pending with the Islamabad High Court.

The appointment appears to be another intelligent stroke by the master player Zardari himself. The day of his appointment as the PCB chairperson, a senior official of Zarai Taraqiati Bank filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking the court to, among other things, set aside the notification to allow Ashraf to continue as the bank's president. Though the allegations of irregularities and corruption will remain valid at the court, Ashraf was picked by President Zardari from the centre of the boiling pot. Time will tell if he was placed inside another one.

With the current spot-fixing scandal and the resultant case proceedings in the UK unraveling our image, the PCB needs a serious overhaul. Immediately after his appointment, Ashraf has given statements claiming he will clean up the PCB from corruption, will improve its image internationally, and will ensure that winning on the field remains the primary consideration in evaluating performances.

It remains to be seen whether Ashraf, with his administrative background alone, will be able to bring any positive change to an ailing Board. Considering the shoes he is filling in, one can at least be optimistic in hoping that the affairs of cricket won’t continue their downward spiral.