The last thing a country wants after bagging the hosting rights for a global sports tournament is not to be ready on time. As things stand right now, Pakistan finds itself staring at that worst-case scenario as it races against time to complete work on venues scheduled to host the non-India Champions Trophy matches. It has already missed two deadlines—December 31 and January 25—and now looks set to miss the third one as well, on January 31. According to reports from the country, Pakistan will now try to finish the renovation work at Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium by February 2.
A few reports have suggested that the PCB were forced to restrict the entry of journalists at stadiums in Karachi and Lahore to save face. Also, as of January 25, work for the seats and digital screens was reportedly still incomplete at the Gaddafi Stadium, which is scheduled to host four matches, including the Australia vs England clash on February 22 and the second semi-final on March 5. A raft of videos on social media, filmed by ordinary people, show the sorry state of the venues currently.
Why ICC Is Responsible Too
Interestingly, the focus shifted to the state of the stadiums only after the issue of India not willing to travel to Pakistan was settled. The powers that be in the PCB could have perhaps spent a little more energy trying to hasten the pace of work rather than trying to ensure that all matches are played on Pakistan soil.
While the initial criticism for the slow pace of work—Pakistan has reportedly spent upwards of Rs 372 crore on renovation at the three centres—should be directed at their cricket board, the International Cricket Council (ICC) will also have to shoulder a lot of the responsibility. Which is why when news of Geoff Allardice stepping down as the ICC CEO was revealed barely three weeks before the start of the tournament, it wasn't a huge surprise. This is being seen as the first big head to roll because of the laggard work at the venues in Pakistan—work that Allardice was in charge of overseeing. The fact that no thought was given to keeping a hybrid model ready, with India playing their matches at a neutral venue, was also a big failure. The decision to award the tournament to Pakistan was taken in November 2021 by an ICC Board chaired by former ICC Chairman Greg Barclay, the gentleman Jay Shah took the reins from. As many as three other officials, including the head of events, the head of marketing and communications and the head of the anti-corruption unit had stepped down citing personal reasons after the much-criticised T20 World Cup last year. They were all part of Barclay's team.
Good Old Days
Regardless of the ultimate fate of the Champions Trophy this time, there is no doubt that the current ICC leadership group will be taking a close, hard look at the whole fiasco. Two things that they need to keep in mind in the future, while considering awarding Pakistan hosting rights of global events are a hybrid model—so that India's games can be played at a neutral venue—and the overall state of sports governance and policy strength in the country.
Perhaps the biggest indicator of how much both governance and policies in Pakistan have crumbled over the decades is the country's overall decline in global sports performances. There was a time when Pakistan was synonymous with excellence in sports like field hockey, cricket, squash and boxing. Three Olympic gold medals in men's hockey, three ICC titles, six World Squash Team Championship titles and an Olympic bronze in boxing came from those glory days. Athletes like Sohail Abbas, Waseem Ahmed, Asif Iqbal, Zaheer Abbas, Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Javed Miandad, Hashim Khan, Jahangir Khan, Jansher Khan and Syed Hussain Shah, among many others, were global superstars, across decades.
But that was a long time ago. The decline has been slow, but very steady. Administrations failed to put in place forward-looking systems and that really hurt Pakistani sports. There's a reason why Arshad Nadeem's Paris Olympic gold in men's javelin throw was celebrated with so much gusto—not just because it was the country's first Olympic medal in 22 years, but because it somewhat quenched the thirst for global sporting success, something the country hadn't experienced consistently in a very long time.
What Ruined Pakistan's Sports Ecosystem
Pakistan just couldn't keep pace with the changing face and pace of global sports. Sports like hockey, cricket and squash have all evolved into almost completely different games from the time Pakistan dominated them. That, coupled with charges of corruption, mismanagement, extremely irregular government support and policies that ignored most sports apart from cricket, saw Pakistan fall behind in the race to be a global sporting powerhouse. Many a sports journalist in Pakistan have written articles over the years about the steady decline they have witnessed.
Ironically, Pakistan is still a hub for manufacturing high-quality sports equipment. However, that is not a parameter to gauge if a country's sports ecosystem is robust. And though cricket has been the biggest and most popular sport in the country for a while, the sport's administration hasn't really been spared some of the scourges that plague other games and the country's overall sports health. The PCB has seen as many as three different chairmen since 2022; allegations of vested interests and political interference have hastened the decline of Pakistan cricket. Just December last year, former Australian cricketer Jason Gilespie stepped down as Pakistan's Test coach. He told ABC Sport that he was kept in the dark and “blindsided” by the PCB over key decisions. Former bowling great Waqar Younis was brought on board as an advisor to the PCB Chairman, but then, he was suddenly made the mentor of a domestic team in the Champions T20 Cup. In August last year, after Pakistan lost to Bangladesh by 10 wickets in a Test match at home in Rawalpindi, former Pakistan head coach Mudassar Nazar, who had played almost 200 international matches for Pakistan, said the PCB was “full of confused people” making “mistake after mistake”. Former Pakistan Test opener Ahmed Shehzad said he has “never seen Pakistan cricket sink so low”.
Going by reports, for the Champions Trophy this time, the PCB has undertaken the largest venue renovation exercise since 1996—the last time the country hosted an ICC event. Many in the PCB will be having sleepless nights right now. The question is, what kind of notes is the new ICC regime taking?
(The author is a former sports editor and primetime sports news anchor. He is currently a columnist, features writer and stage actor)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author
