Good riddance

    
CHAIRMAN Pakistan Cricket Board Dr Nasim Ashraf tendered his resignation on Monday, although not admitting that under his stewardship the team's performance had taken a nosedive but saying that President Musharraf's departure from the political scene had left no ground for him to continue in the job. Is the head of the cricket board supposed to be political? That partly explains the failure of our team for the past many years, particularly under Dr Ashraf's guidance. Making a political appointment or asking some bureaucrat to manage the board is precisely the point the trouble starts from. They are unaware of the player's psyche or even the basic dynamics of the game, and as a result the team's performance suffers. Professionally managed, like the Indian Cricket League, for instance, show enviable results. Besides, the way the PCB handled Shoaib Akhtar's case has virtually put his career into jeopardy and constitutes a black spot on its marksheet. The Champions Trophy is to be held within a month and hopefully selection of the right man for the task could go a long way in elevating our cricket back to the world standard it once enjoyed.