Does Pakistan Cricket need a 'Break'?

Pakistan has been the cricketing world's problem child for a while now. One would think that all the various controversies from administrative hiccups to corruption over the years would have taught a thing or two to those running the affairs of cricket in Pakistan about administration and how to stay away from those controversies but that has not been the case. Administration of cricket in Pakistan seems to touch new lows almost every other day and it seems that the ordinary fan of Pakistan cricket, who has had to put up with so much over the years and yet continues to lend unwavering support to the national team, will continue to be agonized for a long time to come.

The Pakistan cricket fan has been a sufferer of sorts of late. Cricket is one of the many problems he has; political instability, social unrest and volatile security situation in the country are few of the other worries that he has to think about. Until last year, it seemed that cricket was an adequate vent for the frustration gripping the country and the cricket fans. The T20 World Cup victory in 2009, surprising and exciting as it was, did wonders to assuage the wounded Pakistani pride, which reflects how deeply cricket is embedded in the DNA of the national psyche; it also shows how much the sport matters to the ordinary folk of the country.
This begs the question: do the ordinary folk, the diehard cricketing fans and those aspiring youngsters involved with cricket in Pakistan need to be put through more agony? Should the faith of these enthusiasts in the spirit of the sport that binds the Pakistani nation together be further tested? Should the already battered national psyche of the Pakistani nation be further scarred?
The answer is -- of course not. But then what do we do. Clearly the current states of affairs, as they are, are not likely to bring about any improvement. A change of guard at the top, that is the office of the chairman of PCB, might do some good to the morale of the battered cricketing nation, where the incumbent is more hated than the most hated man of the country i.e. its President. Yet cynics would tell you that the panacea infecting cricket in Pakistan runs deep and that changing one man, who admittedly is the worst of all cricketing administrators Pakistan has had, will not solve the many problems of Pakistan cricket. So, what to do?
Noted commentator and former Indian Test cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has come up with a simple idea. He suggests 'Give them a break'. By break, he doesn't mean that a ban should be imposed, implying some sort of punishment for Pakistan cricket; instead he proposes that a year or two year break should be given so that cricket in Pakistan can be disconnected from the scourge of corruption that seems to be so embedded in the structure.
While the idea would be scoffed at by most Pakistanis, given that it is coming from an Indian, but rationally speaking it makes sense. Playing more cricket would not solve the problem. It would only complicate the relationships of the players and the corrupting elements, which might pose a danger to the security of the players and their families. The administration would continue to be in a reactionary mode, in which it will react to one development after another, and any measure to reform the structure for the long run would be hindered as such. The ICC could use the 'break' to reassert its authority and legitimacy in the cricketing world. It can work with Pakistan to reform the administrative body, institute anti corruption steps and establish some system of accountability between authorities in cricketing nations and cricket's apex body.
Whether this will happen or not is anybody's guess. But one thing is certain that Pakistan cricket needs a break--from controversies and problems that have bedevilled the sport in the country for a long time now.