The good part about the dispute between Shahid Afridi and the Pakistan Cricket Board is that it’s over, at least for now. The bad part is that it was an unnecessary tussle that could easily have been avoided in the first place. Also, it’s quite evident from Thursday’s outcome that both parties continue to hold grudges and it won’t be surprising if the issue crops up again in the not too distant future. Officially, the dispute that was triggered after the PCB stripped Afridi of Pakistan’s one-day captaincy last month was resolved last Thursday after the board’s disciplinary committee slapped the all-rounder with a hefty fine of Rs4.5 million. The board also agreed to restore a No Objection Certificate for Afridi to play abroad.
But privately, both parties continue to badmouth each other. The board is claiming victory by declaring that it has carried out disciplinary action against the country’s most popular cricketer. Meanwhile, Afridi’s camp believes its petition against the PCB has ‘borne fruit’, adding that the board only came to the negotiating table after Afridi decided to go to court to seek justice. The truth of the matter is that it was a lose-lose situation for both parties right from the start. By lashing out at the PCB, Afridi had breached discipline. By revoking his NOC, the board had abused its powers. The fact that both parties needed ‘political’ intervention to resolve the issue leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Afridi and Ijaz Butt, the controversial PCB chairman, were made to sit together in Islamabad by influential quarters and were instructed to reach a deal. In the end, Butt agreed to grant Afridi his NOC. In return, Afridi withdrew his court case against the PCB and appeared before its disciplinary committee. The three-man panel went through the motions and took disciplinary action against Afridi. The details, however, were already decided in Islamabad two days ago during the Afridi-Butt meeting. The match, as they say, might have been fixed.
