Pakistan cricket is at a crossroads as we speak, some roads ahead are blocked completely, others appear to be clear but there may be obstacles ahead and some roads have No Entry signs, whilst others have green lights appearing.

 

Pakistani cricket as we all know is a roller coaster ride at the best of times, with far too many lows and downward spirals over the years.

 

You have to be thick skinned and have a stable heart to be a fan of the Pakistan team, as you never quite know what is around the corner. You literally have to peek at the television or the internet in the fear that almost on a daily basis there will be some sort of negative story to digest.

 

Over the years we have seen controversy a plenty, tinged with the occasional great team performance and individual brilliance. The defeat to Bangladesh in the World Cup which was tainted with match fixing allegations, the match fixing allegations in South Africa, player revolts against the captain seem to have been a regular occurrence, Shoaib Akhtar hitting a team mate with a cricket bat, the Qayyum report, the recent Yousuf and Malik spat in the full glare of the media, the defeat to Ireland in the last World Cup, ball tampering allegations, the Oval debacle, the drugs episode in the Caribbean, Asif’s recent exploits in the UAE and at the IPL – these are just some of the sad episodes of Pakistani cricket, but two things were certain about these episodes and those being that Pakistan would always bounce back and play the type of cricket that epitomizes them and that fans from all over the globe enjoy and secondly that they wouldn’t affect the future well being of Pakistani cricket.

 

However the latest sad episode in Lahore takes Pakistani cricket to a new low, in fact an all time low and one that this time affects the future of Pakistani cricket. My concern is that Pakistan may be isolated by other cricket Boards who aren’t particularly too concerned about the future participation of Pakistan in international cricket. Make no mistake there are parties out there who want Pakistan removed from the international cricketing calendar, whether those reasons are political or something different, over the coming weeks it will all become clear.

 

For the Pakistan cricket board the next few weeks and months are amongst the most important in their history. They need to sit down and come up with a definitive plan of what they want to do in the next 2 years regarding their home series. They need some strong characters and they need some clear heads, as the future of Pakistan cricket is in their hands. I sincerely hope that Ijaz Butt and his advisors can come up with the right moves and correct decisions.

 

Lets not kid ourselves, the political situation in Pakistan is out of control and no team will set foot in Pakistan for at least the next couple of years. In fact some countries won’t be seen in Pakistan for at least the next 5 years, so some tough decisions have to be made. We have already played only played 7 days of test cricket in the last 14 months and this must not be allowed to happen in future. Yes personal pride stipulates that the Board may want to think that some teams may come to Pakistan, but now is the time for reality, rather than misguided notions, otherwise we will have a generation of cricketers who won’t see any decent cricket at international level.

 

Personally speaking and as I have mentioned on the forums I would be in favour of the HQ being moved to Dubai. The expat community there would provide Pakistan with some healthy support and revenue from the months of September and April – play test matches, twenty/20 matches and one dayers in the delightful arenas of Dubai and Abu Dhabi and it would provide the opposition with no excuses for not playing the scheduled matches. You want to play us in neutral venues, well there you go – welcome to the United Arab Emirates. The PCB should by now already have had some lengthy conversations with their UAE counterparts and if they haven’t then what on earth are they playing at.

 

Between the months of May and August I would suggest to the PCB that they look at the possibility of playing their international fixtures in England. Full houses are guaranteed, partisan support you bet, good wickets – oh yes definitely, and an ideal opportunity for some of our up and coming bowlers to test themselves and develop in English conditions. English cricket is not always regarded as flavour of the month with Pakistani fans but if the right deal can be negotiated with the ECB, then I’m sure there will be a queue of County chairman licking their lips at the thought of a full house as Pakistan play Australia or perhaps even India. The financial aspect of playing matches in England will interest me especially with regards to gate receipts and tv revenue.

 

I cant stress how important it is for the PCB to sort this mess. Its going to be a crucial and interesting few weeks and months and a time that the Board need to earn their salaries – let’s hope that they don’t let Pakistan cricket slip off the radar and ensure that Pakistan’s players take part in top level cricket until such a time that international cricket can return to Pakistan.