National University of Computer & Emerging Sciences
National University of Computer & Emerging Sciences

FAST school of management, National university of Computer and Emerging Sciences Islamabad, Pakistan
This case is written by Fatima Babar, Mubashir Saeed, Syed Awais Ali (MBA students) of FAST School of Management, Islamabad, Pakistan under the supervision of Mr.Adil Amin Kazi (Assistant Professor FAST School of Management, Islamabad, Pakistan). Case study refers to learning purposes only.
Cases in management
Dated: 25/05/2015

“Pakistan Cricket Board; from Free Fall to the Downfall”
Sharyar Khan, the 31st and the second time elected Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board since its formation, was in stress the night before the first T20 match between Pakistan and Zimbabwe. After the final visit to the Qaddafi stadium to ensure the arrangements for the match, he sat down on the corner of the stadium to give few thoughts on the emplaced challenges. More than 30,000 spectators will watch the match tomorrow. The passion of cricket in Pakistan is not only commendable but also at times terrifying for the management. Winning the series against the Zimbabwe at the home ground was not the only challenge. Reactive violence from the die heart cricket fans on a loss, media criticism, organizational mafia, terrorism, political pressures and poor team performances were the hard blocks hanging up on his shoulders. Since 1992, when Pakistan became the World Champion, the nation desperately wants to uphold that title again for the country. Keeping in view the performance of the team in 2015 world cup and in their tour to Bangladesh recently, nation has almost lost their hopes in the national cricket team. The open and clear political interference in appointing PCB Chairman in 2014 backed by massive media criticism was the cherry on the top for the nation to lose their trust over the organization. Above all, the terrorist attack on the Srilankan team in 2009 not only banned international cricket in Pakistan but also stopped a mainstream revenue line for the cricket industry. Finally now after six years, international cricket was about to revive. National Cricket team of Zimbabwe has reached Lahore. Strict security measures were taken for their security in order to avoid any terrorist activity. Sharyar, who is a diplomat by profession but a cricket enthusiast by choice, pulled up his all efforts to bring back the international cricket in Pakistan and this tour was a reward for those efforts. Terrorism was just one element to be blamed for. Big three, talent hunt infrastructure, mismanagement, mafia control and political interferences were the challenges he still had to fight for. Although Sharyar was apparently happy for the success of reviving international cricket in Pakistan but deep down inside he was seeking answer to the many questions raising in his mind that how can he at least stop the downfall of the cricket from the free fall?
Cricket history of Pakistan:
Off Ground History:
After the Pakistan came into existence in 1947 through independence from the British government, cricket was the only formal sport considered to be looked at for the national development. The obvious reason for this was the recently ended “British Raj” and that cricket, being the national sport of England, was played across the globe in the acquired colonies of the Great Britain by the British people running those colonies. British not only left the well-built infrastructure in the subcontinent but an implicit lifestyle as well for the emerging two nations; Pakistan and India which started of the passion for cricket in both countries
Pakistan cricket board was officially formed in 1948 with the title “Cricket Control Board of Pakistan” later renamed as “Board of Control for Cricket in Pakistan (BCCP)”, less than a year after the independence with the responsibility of governing professional cricket including one day international and test cricket. In 1994, the BCCP was given a new name “Pakistan Cricket Board” with an introduction of Chairman and Chief Executive. PCB controls and organizes all the tour and matches for the Pakistan National cricket team. Pakistan was admitted to International cricket council in 1952 and since then has been operating as full member participating in test and one day international cricket.
Since from the day one, Pakistan cricket board has been facing the biggest challenge of instability in the management and leadership positions. In past 65 years there had been 31 different chairmen to run the cricket board (Appendix 1). Political interference has been the major factor in this destabilization. Also an informal and continuously changing approach towards the management is a habitual practice towards the organization. In the Pakistani cricket history, six different events of the suspensions of the management have occurred so far resulting into the formation of Ad Hoc and interim management committees. The first Ad Hoc committee was formed in 1960 which lasted for three years resulting into a new constitution where President of Pakistan was given the responsibility to nominate the Board president for the duration of three years. The president was in turn given the authority to elect the executive committee from the four provincial cricket divisions and government departments. The Second Ad Hoc Committee was formed in 1977 after the crisis caused by the players against their demand for increase in their salaries. This time, the constitution was again revised through eliminating the provincial cricket associations. The divisional and city cricket associations were given the memberships with a strong influence towards the Lahore and Karachi cricket associations because of their large reservoirs of talent. The third Ad Hoc Committee was formed in 1994 which not only formed a new constitution but also changed the name from BCCP to Pakistan cricket Board and introduced a Chairman and Chief Executive in the management committee. The fourth Ad Hoc committee was formed in 1999 after the heavy criticism on the ground of corruption and match fixing. In 2013, after the suspension of the PCB chairman by the Islamabad high court, the Prime Minister of Pakistan formed a five member interim committee including an interim chairman. In 2014, the suspended Chairman got reinstated and in the very next month got sacked due to the political rivalry with the acting government. Same year, the board was dissolved and an eight member management committee was formed which elected a new chairman from the committee. Few months later, the same year, a new Chairman was elected from the same committee due to the public intolerance towards the existing Chairman. (Appendix 1)
On Ground History:
Pakistan national cricket team has played 358 test matches so far with winning 108, losing 100 and remaining 150 draw. On the other hand Pakistan national cricket team has played 749 one day internationals winning 401, losing 326, tying 16 and 6 with no results. The national team has also played 46 T20 internationals, the most of any team, winning 27, losing 18 and tying 1. Pakistan became the one day international world champion in 1992 and the T20 world champion in 2009. Pakistan cricket board with its national cricket team has won 8 international tournaments (Appendix 2). Pakistani cricket players hold around two dozen international records in the cricket history which depicts the potential and the talent the country possess (Appendix 3). Pakistani talent has been recognized around the world by not only cricket fans but by the players from different teams from different countries across the globe. A very famous international cricketer from Australia Steve Waugh praises Pakistan's ability to keep discovering fresh talent through saying “The hard thing about Pakistan is that they throw up these cricketers you've never seen before”

PCB Talent Hunt Infrastructure:
Over the years, PCB has built an infrastructure of hunting talent from across the country. 16 regions (Appendix 4) across the Pakistan collectively produce the talent that further pass through different phases of nurturing, training and coaching. Under 16, Under 17, Under19 are the initial scrutiny benchmarks where players showcase their talent and get selected for the National Cricket Academy. Since ICC regulates cricket from the 19 years of age and organizes under 19 World Cup after every two years, PCB shows an active participation in that event every time. Later on, the selected players in the formation of 16 different teams along with the 16 department teams (Appendix 5) play in the major Pakistani tournaments like Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, President Trophy and Faisal Bank T20 tournament. Two leagues are then formed as a result of these tournaments; Gold and Silver leagues. These events are conducted for the public viewership and for the national team talent hunt as well. The best performers from the gold league teams are then inducted at National Emerging Performers Club (NEPC) in two different squads; one day and four day. The left out positions in gold league are then filled with the best performers of the silver league. At this level (NEPC) the players get the chance to play the first class cricket. The first class cricket teams are called “Pakistan A” teams. Finally from the “Pakistan A” teams the national players are selected to play at the international level representing Pakistan across the world.
The first and the biggest challenge management face towards the administration is the corruption at all levels. Collectively a mafia has formed that does not allow the process to execute fairly. The political interference starts from the very first level. Favouritism, personal interest, political flattery and no meritocracy are the first end hurdles faced by the talented players at all levels. The mafia has gone so strong over the years that it is now very much difficult to break it. 99% of the hiring in PCB is done through personal contacts and references. It has now become a practice of inducting close people to strengthen the network that works for the self-interest. In a comparative analysis with the boards operating in other countries, PCB has more than 100% excessive staff to work for the organization, most of them being incompetent and from the non-cricketing background. One man job is done by two people at every level and this practice has been accepted at all levels.
On the other hand, the organizational politics is also a set-back for the organization. Different lobbies have been created at different levels which for the sake of their own interests create hurdles for the key performers. Also the stronger lobbies have created departmental quotas for their own interests despite of any provision in the constitution. These quotas don’t let the emerging talent get through the process and the objective of collective growth for the national interest is something most of the people at PCB are completely unaware of.
Commercialization of cricket:
“Study makes one intelligent while playing makes dumb” has been an adage that no longer exists. Sports players are among the highest paid celebrities across the world now. Cricketers from the subcontinent are the hot pie for the Fashion industry, film industry, corporate industry and media industry. Every successful cricketer makes a fortune out of his career even after retiring from the ground. Thanks to the Kerry Packer, an Australian Media magnate, who in 1970 envisioned a shorter version of the cricket – a one day game. That was the commercial foundation laid for the cricket. Packer, after the refusal from the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) for the exclusive broadcasting rights to Channel 9 for the cricket proceedings, started his own competition in 1977 by signing 50 International cricketers. For the first time, the stereotyped “Empire” format of play where teams used to play in white uniforms with lunch, tea and drinks breaks was replaced with glamorous and colorful uniforms, flood lights and media glare. Though Packer World Cricket Series deemed because of the established cricket boards of the different countries but it started off a fire that never went off in the hearts of the cricket fans. Cricket became the second most popular game in the world after football. Participating teams travelled over the world to play two versions of cricket; one-day and test cricket. Eventually one day cricket world cup started off in Australia and Sharjah (Middle East) annually and later with the consensus of all National cricket boards across the world, World Championship started on a fixed pattern of repetition after four years with a ‘limited’ over version of one day cricket. The cricket has been forced by the commercialization to reinvent itself in the last fifteen years. A new short end format of 20 overs called T20 has been introduced to facilitate the interest of the stakeholders The commercialization has gone way ahead after the introduction of T20 game which has reduced the time to only three hours and increased the viewership multiple folds for the cricket fans. T20 is the latest craze for the cricket fanatics across the world. Stadiums are filling up with a craze for cricket that has never been seen before. PCB has been more of a victim of this commercialization than the beneficiary. There are two reasons for this; first, it’s the commercialization that has forced the inculcation of the corruption in the overall infrastructure of the board. This industry has emerged over the past 15-20 years and has generated billions of dollars in revenue for the associated stakeholders globally. All the lobbies associated with the management fight with each other to become the maximum beneficiary of this commercialization of cricket in Pakistan. This is the prime reason for the political involvement at every level and for the creation of mafia. Becoming a cricketer brings fame, money and higher stakes in the industry and is not less than getting a dream come true. Secondly, in the war of commercialization, PCB has been inducted into different international conspiracies to stop the inflow of business and revenues for the cricket industry. Banning Pakistani players in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and playing against India except world cup, terrorist attack on the Srilankan players in Lahore and the abduction of Pakistani players in match fixing are few good examples to explain the setbacks faced by PCB. From the last six years, PCB has not only been facing serious losses against the ban on the international cricket in Pakistan but also loosing on the performance of its key players due to less chances of game with the other international teams. On the other hand, India has gained a lot from this commercialization (Appendix 6) and because of this got its way up to the biggest consortium of the cricket history “THE BIG THREE”.
BIG THREE:
Big three is the cartel formed by the three most revenue generating countries; England, Australia and India, in the global cricket industry. The purpose of this consortium was to influence ICC for the remodeling of rules and regulations for their own interests. England being the pioneer of the game and because of its best infrastructure is the prime member of the big three. Australia on the other hand winning most of the world cups and international tournaments is the second big influencer. Lastly India being the most populous market for the viewership and the revenue generating market for the cricket is the third member of the big three. The influence of the big three is not only a threat for PCB but also for the other members of the ICC as well. More than 70% of the revenue will be divided among the big three members and the rest of the revenue will be divided among the rest of the ICC members. Also the big three will influence the commercialization towards their own interest by manipulating the rules and regulations of the international constitution. The Finance Commercial Affair (FCA) committee will now comprise of the four members; three from the big three and one from the rest of the member countries. This will not only restrict the cricket to only one cartel but also would leverage serious losses to the other members of the ICC. Fighting with the cartel is less challenging for the PCB than fighting with the closest cricket board of the region “The Board for the Control of Cricket in India (BCCI)”. It’s not only the cricket ground where the biggest rivalry comes across for both of the nations. India put a direct blame on Pakistan for the Mumbai attacks in 2008 and BCCI in a continuation to that stopped playing against Pakistan except for the worldwide international tournament called ODI World CUP. That was an end to the biggest cricketing entertainment for the cricketing fans. On the other hand, Pakistan blames India for the terrorist attack on the Srilankan team in 2009 which caused a six year long ban in Pakistan for the international cricket. Pakistani players as a return were banned from IPL in 2010. Ever since then, cricket has not been the same for Pakistan. Playing against India had been so far the most revenue generating source for PCB which no longer exists.

Terrorism:
The terrorist attack on Srilankan team was nothing less than a night mare for the PCB. International cricket got banned in Pakistan which means than no team from across the world would visit Pakistan for the cricketing entertainment unless the terrorism comes to an end. Pakistan has been in a state of war since very long due its geographical position. In the past few years, Pakistan has been under serious terrorist attacks caused by the regional militants. These attacks are a reaction to the multiple operations done by the American Army in Afghanistan and in the tribal areas of Pakistan. Also the Pakistani government blames Indian agencies for these attacks to create unrest in the country. Although controlling terrorism in Pakistan is not part of PCB’s responsibilities but yet it’s a factor that directly affects the PCB operations and the revenue streams. It took the government and PCB six years to revive the international cricket in Pakistan. After the successful completion of the operation “Zarb-e-Azb” against the terrorist militants, the government wanted to portray an image of Pakistan as a safe land to the rest of the world and for the Pakistanis as well. For this PCB was given the responsibility to conduct an international cricketing entertainment in Pakistan and they finally succeeded in hosting Zimbabwe for T20 and one day international matches against Pakistan.

Pakistan Cricket Team:
Pakistan cricket team has been one of the finest teams across the world. The team has not only created the biggest upsets on the cricket ground of the cricket history but also has given a lot to the cricket its self. Following are the gifts from Pakistan team to the cricketing fraternity across the world; 1. Doosra:
Legendary bowler Saqlain Mushtaq from Pakistan was the inventor of ‘doosra’; a form of bowling delivery for the leg spin of the ball using the middle finger of the right hand without changing the bowling action. The doosra’s effectiveness has been appreciated all over the world and was adopted by my international players. It has now become a compulsory trait for every off spinner to master the ‘doosra’ to secure his position in the team. 2. Reverse Swing:
The reverse swing started off with the famous fast bowler Sarfraz Nawaz when he secured 7 wickets against Australia for just one run. The most f the reverse swing was capitalised by the famous two Ws of the Pakistani team; Wasim and Waqar. Both Wasim and Waqar were famous for their toe breakers and swinging Yorkers with an old ball. Pakistani bowlers are internationally recognized for their reverse swings and are considered as the pioneers for introducing this bowling technique.

3. Indipper:
The Indipper belongs to Imran Khan, who not only invented, but mastered the delivery and used it effectively against world’s best batsmen. 4. Mastering the Googlie, Slow delivery and reverse sweep:
Pakistani players are not the inventors of googlie, slow delivery and reverse sweep but the history will always remember the master of these three traits. Abdul Qadir was the master of googlie, Javed miandad was the master of reverse sweep and Aquib Javed was the master of slow delivery. 5. Introducing Spinners to the ODIs:
Abdul Qadir from the Pakistani team was the first spinner to be used in one day cricket which performed so well that the whole world started following this technique. Before Abdul Qadir there was no concept of using a spinner in ODIs. Qadir was also such a creative bowler that he could deliver 33 different wicket taking balls that could never be reproduced. 6. Field restriction for first 15 overs:
Pakistan was the first team to open up the match using first 15 over field restriction for the first time. Shahid Afridi’s fastest century on 37 balls is the best example of using first 15 over for the field restriction. 7. Neutral Umpires:
The legendary Imran khan was the first captain and cricketer to introduce the concept of neutral umpiring. Imran khan after getting sick of the carping in Pakistan VS India series pushed the idea of using neutral umpires.

Issues with Pakistani cricket Team:
Recently there are multiple issues with the Pakistani team which are considered to be the main causes of poor performance by the team on the ground in the last world cup and in the last tour to Bangladesh. Following are the key issues; I) Nationalism is the primary and the most important expectation from every cricketer playing in any country. Unfortunately Pakistani cricketers put nationalism far behind of their Self Interest. Pakistani players lack that igniting spirit of fight against their competition. II) Team work is the most important issue with the Pakistani team. Tem members don’t play together. Whether it’s the ground field or off ground activity, the players prioritizing their self-interest ignore the required bonding with the fellow players. They don’t own their mistakes and blame each other for the losses. Also on ground they prefer to play for their career rather than for the country. III) Blame Game is the second major issue within the team. The management blames the team for their poor performance whereas the team blames the management for their poor performance. This raises a constant clash between the two parties and ignites a reactive approach towards each other. IV) Dirty Politics is another issue that does not allow the young and emerging talent to come up for the national team. The senior players try to bring in those players who suit them more than they suit the ground. Favouritism and nepotism is not only part of the management but also it’s a part of our national cricket players as well. V) Coaching and mentoring lacks at every level. Players compete with each other. The senior players instead of acting as mentors for the youngsters behave more like lobbyist. They don’t nurture the emerging talent and don’t take this as their responsibility.

Pakistani team has the potential the rest of the world craves for. After the complete downfall of hockey in Pakistan, this is the only sport left that unites the nation. The second most viewed sport in world “Cricket” is the passionate craze and the most viewed sport in Pakistan and in the subcontinent. Sharyar taking a deep breath stands up to leave the stadium with high hopes for the match to be played tomorrow. His thoughts are still somewhere stuck to find the answers. He believes that a good planning and effective management can make a difference but is confused at the same time with the political interferences. He wants a permanent solution to stop the political interferences so that the corruption could go down. How can he give this nation the best gift of bringing World Cup again? He wants to fiercely fight for the nation against the big three cartel and international conspiracies and for that he needs a complete confidence from the management. How can he develop that national and fighting spirit among the players and the management? How can he build the cricketing infrastructure in Pakistan that could bring legacy to his career and would make a history?

Appendix 1:
Presidents and Chairmen of Pakistan Cricket Board:

1. Iftikhar Hussain Khan, Nawab of Mamdot - May 1948– March 1950
2. Chaudhry Nazir Ahmad Khan - March 1950 – Sept 1951
3. Abdus Sattar Pirzada - September 1951 – May 1953
4. Mian Aminuddin - March 1953 – Jul 1954
5. Muhammad Ali Bogra - July 1954 – September 1955
6. Maj. Gen Iskander Mirza - September 1955 – December 1958
7. Field Marshal Muhammad Ayub Khan - Dec 1958 – June 1960
8. Justice A.R.Cornelius - 1960 – May 1963
9. Syed Fida Hassan - June 1963 – May 1969
10. Ikram Ahmed Khan (President) - May 1969 – May 1972
11. Abdul Hafeez Kardar - May 1972 – Apr 1977
12. Chaudhry Muhammad Hussain - Apr 1977 – July 1978
13. Lt Gen (Retd) Kh. Muhammad. Azhar - August 1978 – Feb 1980
14. Air Marshal (Retd) Muhammad Nur Khan - February 1980 – Feb 1984
15. Lt Gen. (Retd) Ghulam Safdar Butt - Feb 1984 – February 1988
16. Lt Gen. (Retd) Zahid Ali Akbar Khan - Feb 1988 – Sep 1992
17. Justice Dr Nasim Hasan Shah - Oct 1992 – Dec 1994
18. Javed Burki - January 1994 – March 1995
19. Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah Bukhari - March 1995 – Jan 1998
20. Khalid Mahmood - Jan 1998 – Jul 1999
21. Mujeeb ur Rehman - Aug 1999 – October 1999
22. Dr. Zafar Altaf - October 1999 – December 1999
23. Lt. Gen. Tauqir Zia - December 1999 – 2003
24. Shaharyar Muhammad Khan - December 2003 – October 2006
25. Dr. Nasim Ashraf - October 2006 – August 2008.
26. Ijaz Butt October - 2008 – October 2011
27. Zaka Ashraf - October 2011 – May 28, 2013 (suspended by IHC)
28. Najam Sethi - Jun 2013 - Jan 2014
29. Zaka Ashraf - Jan-Feb 2014 (Reinstated as Chairman by IHC)
30. Najam Sethi - Feb 2014- May 16, 2014

Appendix 2
Tournament History:

Appendix 3:

Records:

Appendix 4:

Regions and Departments Regions | Abbottabad | Bahawalpur | Faisalabad | Hyderabad | Islamabad | Karachi Blues | Karachi Whites | Lahore Ravi | Lahore Shalimar | Multan | Peshawar | Quetta | Rawalpindi | Sialkot |

Departments: | Habib Bank Limited | Khan Research Laboratories | National Bank of Pakistan | Pakistan International Airlines | Pakistan Television | Port Qasim Authority | State Bank of Pakistan | Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited | United Bank Limited | Water and Power Development Authority | Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited |

Appendix 5:
Talent Hunt Infrastructure:
Appendix 5:
Talent Hunt Infrastructure:
Pakistan National Team
Pakistan National Team

Pakistan A Team
Pakistan A Team

National Emerging Players Club
National Emerging Players Club

Gold league and Silver league
Gold league and Silver league

National Cricket Academy Camp
National Cricket Academy Camp

Under 17 pool
Under 17 pool

Under 16 Pool
Under 16 Pool

Under 19 Team
Under 19 Team

16 regional Associations
16 regional Associations

Appendix 6: IPL Earning:

References: 1. Wikipedia 2. Espn.com 3. Daily Tribune 4. Pakistan Cricket Board 5. Stags cricket Club Lahore.