Like its Patron-in-Chief the Pakistan Cricket Board has also started taking amazing U-Turns. In a span of 24 hours it sacked and reinstated former Test cricketer Faisal Iqbal, head coach of Balochistan team in National T20. This is a shameful U-Turn which has not only exposed the working of PCB but made it a laughing stock.
Faisal was appointed head coach of Balochistan First XI in August last but was sacked on Thursday (24th September) after the confirmation that the former Test batsman was involved in a forgery case and was issued a show cause notice by his employers the Pakistan International Airlines.
The PCB abruptly appointed Wasim Haider to act as the Balochistan cricket team’s interim head coach. However, on Friday, next day, Faisal was reinstated after he produced a No Objection Certificate (NOC) by his parent organization, PIA. The PCB announced that he will rejoin the Balochistan cricket team for the National T20 Cup
Faisal was facing a departmental inquiry – related to presenting a fake Matric certificate at the time of getting a contractual job in the PIA.
A show-cause notice was served to Faisal on 15th June 20, this year which accused that the Matric certificate, submitted by him, had discrepancies as compared to the employment form filled up by him at the time of his appointment. ‘You were inducted in PIA on 27.10.2003, on contract basis and at the time of your induction, you submitted copy of your Matric certificate, which was sent for verification to the concerned board and the Board of Secondary Education, Karachi has declared your Matric certificate as forged/tampered vide their letter dated 18.11.2019, as per Board record, your name is Faisal Muhammad Iqbal and your date of Birth is 05.08.1980, and the copy of Matric certificate which you submitted is not issued from BSEK.
However, as per your employment form you mentioned your name as Faisal Iqbal and your date of birth is 30.12.1981, duly signed by you’, the show-cause notice read. Faisal was required to submit his answer within seven days – 22nd June, 2020.
The PCB could have contacted to PIA to know the present nature of on ongoing inquiry against Faisal which is a normal procedure in the corporate sector but it chose to sack him. It made a huge blunder. Absolutely disgusting! Many wonder the prompt submission of a NOC by Faisal within a day and the PCB General Manager Domestic, Junaid Zia, has also expressed its pleasure that Faisal Iqbal has promptly and swiftly resolved an ongoing matter.
A forgery case which was in progress against Faisal since November last has been resolved within few hours only to reinstate and accommodate him. Whom the inept management of PCB trying to hoodwink?
It disturbs ardent followers of cricket in Pakistan that PCB affairs are being run on personal whims. One day a coach is sacked, next day he is reinstated without any remorse.
The PCB already has tainted former Test cricketers in Cricket Committee and the team management. Now Faisal has joined them. What message the PCB is giving to the upcoming youngsters? A person facing forgery case against him is their coach.
Apparently, Faisal has not cleared himself from the forgery case. But the PCB seems compelled to give him job because he is nephew of great Javed Miandad who has turned out to be a hard critic of Imran Khan’s political policies and his whimsical and obdurate decision of abandoning departmental cricket. Does PCB want to soften Miandad?
Faisal’s issue has once again exposed the incompetence of Ehsan Mani and Wasim Khan and substantiated our reservations: ‘PCB doesn’t need a Charted Accountant but a cricket administrator’ and a British born Khan has no clue of ground realities of Pakistan cricket.