Former Pakistan pace bowler Mohammad Akram was in an uncompromising mood when I spoke to him yesterday. When he bowled he was an aggressive and "in your face" bowler and yesterday he was in an equally aggressive mood.

30th March 2010

The PCB

The current setup of PCB is all wrong. Far too many of the senior Board employees are doing nothing, except filling their own pockets. On the one hand you have too many political appointments, who are there just to please somebody or the other. Why are individuals like say Yawar Saeed - what exactly has he achieved during the 15 to 20 years of being involved with Pakistan cricket? - being chosen as tour manager? It is obvious that people like him are there because of their strong political backing.

On the other hand, you have those retired cricketers in senior positions who have been there since ages, and nobody knows what their utility is. What is Wasim Bari, for example, supposed to be doing in a senior position at the PCB, is again a mystery. Has he ever achieved anything? This man should not be in any role at the PCB, never mind a senior role.

People who are entrusted with the task of running the game in Pakistan do not know anything about the game. They don't know how to interact with the players, how to handle the players, and how to work with the players. This has been going on for a long time, and over the years many players have been mistreated by the Board, and we are seeing the same things happening over and over again. It's about time the board utilized the services of ex cricketers who are still in touch with the game - players who haveen't been retired too long.

Tauqir Zia was actually doing some good things for Pakistan Cricket, but then the political situation changed and with it the Board. The connection of the government and the board has always cost Pakistan Cricket dearly. There must be some sort of consistency in running our Cricket and in representing Pakistan at the ICC meetings, irrespective of changes in government. Our Chairman lost us co-hosting of the World Cup because he was new to the position and hence just caved in to what the other ICC representatives suggested. I would suggest that the same individual be Pakistan's representative at ICC meetings for a period as long as 10 years.

The Academies need to start educating young cricketers not just about cricket, but also about how to handle the media - what to say and what not to say to the journalists. The players also need to be educated about their behaviour on tours. There should also be courses for managers and support staff on how to handle the media.

Handling of the crisis post Australia

The Board has been too soft with some of the current players and they have taken unfair advantage of the Board's leniency. The players and the Board are both at fault for the mess we found ourselves in during and after the tour of Australia - the Board in their handling of the players and the players because they acted very unprofessionally at times.

Intikhab's removal as coach is a welcome step for Pakistan Cricket. Waqar should be given all the backing and support he needs. Waqar, as coach, and Afridi, as captain, should be given a one year contract and allowed to turn things around. The T20 World Cup squad should have been selected after getting Waqar's input. Also, the fact that Waqar had no idea about the bans shows he is not inside the loop.

There is more to the punishment of Yousuf and Younus than meets the eye. A lot seems to have happened behind the curtain, and the nation deserves to know what has been going on. The same goes for bans on Rana and Malik. The reasons the Board has given just don't add up. The Board must release the full report.

Afridi too was hard done by in my opinion. He had already been penalized by the ICC and therefore didn't deserve to be punished by the PCB for the same offence.