A View from Midwicket: Heart to heart with PCB’s Abbas Zaidi by M U Haq

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Event:

England in Pakistan 2005/06

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DateLine: 7th August 2005

 

Abbas Zaidi is a retired Foreign Office official who served in many countries. Shahryar Khan considered taking him on board because of the India series which was taking place after many years amidst much hype. It was going to be a trendsetter and a test of our relations with India.

 

He had served in Delhi and also as the director at the India and Bangladesh desk and South Asia was his beat. His function was to oversee the series, particularly as some very special guests were expected to visit Pakistan for the series, including Quaid-e-Azam's daughter Dina Wadia, former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's daughter Priyanka Ghandi and son Rahul Ghandi and a host of important Indian cabinet ministers who had to be humoured and looked after. That was a short assignment which went well and Shahryar offered him a permanent position in the board. He is now director in-charge of board operations, administration, finance, media, public relations and a member of the management group where he is expected to deal with many other issues.

 

MU: Welcome, Abbas Zaidi. Are you enjoying being an important functionary of PCB?

 

AZ: Yes, very happy. This is work which is of interest to the people of Pakistan. It carries great responsibility.

 

MU: Coming to brass tacks, the boycott of Karachi by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). What was the PCB's reaction other than that published in the press?

 

AZ: I believe the word boycott would be a very strong expression.

 

MU: I am only quoting a certain newspaper.

 

AZ: This is the public’s perception, and that is why I will reiterate that England will play in Karachi and will stay for two nights, so it is not a boycott. There are certain perceptions about Pakistan’s security and obviously some concerns. Everything was hunky-dorey until the carnage at Bari Imam right in the heart of Islamabad in the last week of May. That stirred the British into pressing the worry button. That was followed by the catastrophic bomb blast in a mosque in Karachi and these two suicide bombings in quick succession started the whole review of security in Pakistan. I do not think the London bombings were a factor, though they caused some reservations and started a negative thinking process. It is very difficult to convince a touring team not to worry about Karachi and that the bomb blasts are not cricket related, but foreigners have different perceptions, which sometimes are misplaced. The Indians didn’t want to play in Karachi at all, but we forced them to. Mr Dalmiya later made a public statement that it was the best match that he had witnessed in terms of organization, crowd support for the visiting team, courtesies being extended and whatever. In the match itself more than 700 runs were scored and it was thoroughly enjoyed by one and all. The Indians will now not be able to voice the same apprehensions as they did before coming here in 2004. They have no argument now against Karachi.

 

MU: But knowing the Indians, they always like a bit of retaliation. You refused to play a Test in Ahmedabad. Do you think they will use that as an excuse not to play a Test in Karachi?

 

AZ: When we did not play a Test in Ahmedabad the score was even. They had not played a Test in Karachi. We can now start with a clean slate! The relationship between the two boards now is much better. Our chairman’s way of dealing with matters is with great understanding. He is generous and forthcoming and he has done very well to maintain friendships and look after the best interest of the board employees.

 

MU: In spite of the senators’ best efforts to derail the system?

 

AZ: That is in its place but a lot of gas has been taken out of that balloon as a result of your recent article, which we appreciate.

 

MU: Have you received the itinerary for the 2006 tour to England?

 

AZ: I doubt very much but I will look into it. The chairman held a press conference a couple of days back and in answer to a question about the possibility of rejecting certain venues on safety grounds he answered in the affirmative. We have our concerns and there can be no objection to that.

 

MU: So your resolve is fairly strong to raise objections to certain English cities?

 

AZ: If we feel there is a need to do that.

 

MU: One of the problems is likely to be with the National Front, the yobs. You have to worry about them, not that they will let off bombs – it is the personal attacks on individuals that you will have to guard against. For whatever reasons, the ECB opted not to play a Test match in Karachi because they would have to spend seven days in Karachi and with an additional ODI, it would have meant a ten-day stay in Karachi. When the Italian football club, Inter Milan, expressed reservations about playing in England, they were forthwith branded as cowards. It is a question of double standards. Outside the boundaries of the United Kingdom, security concerns are greatest and they worry about not only the players, but also the Barmy Army. What I say is don’t issue visas to these blighters. If some poor Pakistani wants to go to England to see a cricket match, the chances of his getting a visa are extremely remote, almost nil.

 

AZ: That is so. There is so much emphasis on security that cricket is taking a back seat and in the effort to get the England tour off to a start devoid of controversy we are landed with manifold problems pertaining to players and supporters. We shall appoint a security officer and in the extensive discussions will include the point you have raised. We shall see how best it can be dealt with. I suppose with the kind of social structure in Asia, the Barmy Army’s antics would not be the same as in, say, Holland or Germany. Here the sheer numbers would be very fearsome for them so I expect no problems from them.

 

MU: It should be fun and games.

 

AZ: I suppose this should auger well for us. England are coming to Karachi to play a match, though unfortunately not a Test match. I wish to add one more thing. There are all kinds of noises being made on TV, in the print media etc that the PCB did not forcibly take up Karachi’s cause. There could be nothing further from the truth. The present PCB management, especially the chairman, is totally committed to reviving Karachi as a major cricket venue.

 

MU: I am coming to that. In the context of the development of National Stadium Karachi (NSK), I made a cynical remark recently in my column. I said one of the blessings would be the provision of toilets so when one feels the need to commune with nature he would not have to find a bush or a pillar. You are going to invest a lot of money in this venture. I only hope that Karachi will once again return to its former glories as a major cricketing centre.

 

AZ: Absolutely. The focus on development is not to provide facilities to VIPs and officers. You will be happy to know that we are also constructing 48 good quality apartments for lower category staff who deserve this more than anybody else. This is a 500 million rupees project. The other project we have in the pipeline is the Cricket Club of Pakistan which would also be located in Karachi as the premier cricket club in the country.

 

MU: I wish you the very best in your endeavours. Thank you for this chat which I have thoroughly enjoyed.

 

AZ: Thank you. I am really flattered that you called me for this chat. I look forward to seeing you very soon.

 

(This article first appeared in 'Daily Times on 7 Aug 2005)

(Article: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author only. This article is published courtesy of Daily Times
Copyright © 2005 Daily Times)