Cricket and corruption, in Pakistan, have been officially married since the early 90’s - when the likes of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis were accused of ball tampering for the first time in the history of cricket; an act that, until then was not considered illegal.Then there was the drugs scandal on the West Indies tour, involving names of some of the most famous and biggest stars. After the 90’s, there have been various scandals linked with the Pakistani team.
Cricket in Pakistan is followed religiously; people watch it, talk about it, and until reality hits, half of the population dreams of becoming a pro in it. Generally such a nation reacts strongly and emotionally when the team loses or another scandal erupts, out of nowhere.
Whenever, the Pakistan side has lost, it has been accused of losing on purpose - an act commonly called “Match Fixing”. Ever since Pakistan won the World Cup, back in 1992, the team has never been able to brush aside the match fixing stigma.
One way or the other match fixing has always crept right back. In the 90’s the pros were considered to be the culprits and the common solution, presented was the ouster of the seniors.
Well, the veterans now have retired and yet again the team faces fresh match fixing allegations; this time involving the young lads, leaving experts of ICC’s anti-corruption unit dumb footed, and one is forced to ponder over the fact whether or not there are any honest players playing for Pakistan.
One has to dig deeper and wonder why the national heroes are willing to put their career, pride and honour at stake for a few thousand bucks.
Economics is said to play a role here; with Pakistan facing an economic crunch, what better excuse could the Pakistan Cricket Board come up with. PCB fired former Pakistan Coach Geoff Lawson, because the PCB felt filling Lawson’s piggy bank was getting too expensive for them. Lawson was being paid Rs14 million per annum. This would have made some sense if his successors were hired for a considerably lesser amount. However, the latter washired for Rs 11 million which saw the team’s success rate declining as well.
Unfortunately, the Cricket Board applies the same illogical policy on to players’ wages as well. Pakistani players are lowest paid in their league of teams. This is startling for a nation that holds the sport and its ambassadors in high esteem.
Any layman can understand the perils of a weak economy and a much depreciated local currency, but if Pakistan is to participate in global cricket, they cannot pay their team much less than what everyone else is paying.
Now for everyone who has ever dreamed of becoming an athlete, aside from glory and fame, the prize money and endorsements are a big motivation factor.
Most professional athletes globally come from middle class families, where they have struggled all their lives to make ends meet. The example of David Beckham born into a plumber’s home is right in front of us. Motivation for such guys is to make it to the national squad once, and then money will follow automatically.
When discussing corruption in sports we need to be realistic. Even if a player is at the top of his moral scale, when he watches a player of another team enjoying more perks and privileges, the urge to get-rich-soon will surely creep in them.
Cricket has evolved and it is time all teams evolve with it; let the players earn more money by joining different leagues such as the IPL. The more white money they earn, the better the chances are of stamping out corruption within the ranks of the players
