Extra sports activities by players of touring teams are not uncommon in the sports world, but the Western media has always singled out Pakistani players and tried to malign them in various scandals, including eve teasing. The biased Western media highlighted such scandalous, sometimes baseless and unfounded, stories and rumours only when the Pakistan team was led by a weak skipper and incompetent manager to counter the venomous attacks by the gutter press of the West.
Besides lack of dynamism and working relationship with the press and inability to check off the field activities of some of the key players give ways to speculation.
Such incidents, even if baseless and unfounded, not only stagger the players' performance, but also bring disrepute to the country.
SHOCKING: The character assassination campaign in the Australian press has shocked many at home and even President Pervez Musharraf, who is chief patron of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) already not happy with the team's poor performance in Australia, expressed his concern over indiscipline in the team.
According to the PCB, President Musharraf was briefed by PCB Ad hoc Committee Chairman Shaharyar M. Khan about the allegations in the Australian media that an unnamed Pakistani player raped a woman in a Melbourne hotel.
The PCB chief, who called on the President to brief him about the current tour Down Under and the forthcoming tour of India, is reported to have told the President that the Cricket Board had closed the investigation after finding no evidence against any player.
The President also reported to have showed his concerns over the team's 3-0 defeat in the Test series in Australia and asked (the team) to lift its performance.
-- Cricket fans here are in a fix whether to believe or not, but one thing is sure that a docile and submissive attitude of the team management has failed to enforce discipline in the team.
According to the Australian press, some players were seen in a night-club during the last Test match, and criticised the tour management for its failure to tame some "spoiled" characters in the team.
Whatever are the facts, when there is smoke, there is fire. It is the duty of the captain and the manager to ensure discipline on such tours where they are bound to face hostile crowd and biased media.
AUTHENTICITY: The authenticity of the Australian press reports was probed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and PCB ad hoc committee Chairman Shaharyar Khan has rejected the allegations as baseless.
But at the same time, he is reported to have said that strict action would be taken against those found involved in such activities.
Apart from Pakistan's bad performance in the three-Test series and in two one-dayers against Australia in the VB three-nation series, is just enough to believe that with such activities, no team, including Pakistan, can compete with a superior team like Australia.
It is bad luck for the Pakistan team, which comprise an inexperienced and weak team under a weak and introvert captain and manger, who are not capable to face the barrage of on and off the field attacks.
It is for the third time that Pakistani cricketers have been implicated in sex scandals.
PAST SCANDALS: In 1994-95 Pakistan Under-19 tour of New Zealand, young Asad Ali Abbas was accused of molesting a girl. Though the New Zealand press tried to play up the issue, team manger Khalid (Billy) Ibadullah, who is settled in New Zealand, tactfully handled the case and he not only reprimanded Asad Ali Abbas but also sent him back to Pakistan.
Similarly during Under-19 team tour of West Indies in 1996, Pakistani player Zeeshan Pervez was charged with raping a call girl in his hotel room. Zeeshan Pervez was booked for sexual assault and had to face court proceedings. The incident was widely publicised in the West Indian press.
The Pakistan Cricket Board had to bear all the expanses of Zeeshan's shuttling between Pakistan and West Indies to face the court proceedings. During the West Indies tour, Haroon Rashid was manager of the team.
And now this is the third such incident and second under the managership of Haroon Rashid.
Unlike former Test cricketer Hasib Ahsan, who was manager of Pakistan team on 1987 England tour, grilled the British media and did not allow the UK press to spit venom on Pakistan team.
Earlier the same year when England toured Pakistan, it was again Hasib Ahsan, who paid the British press, which tried to make Mike Gatting-Shakoor Rana incident controversial, in the same old coins.
The tour was about to be called off, but the British Foreign Office intervened in the matter and saved the tour from collapse.
On return home, Mike Gatting was reprimanded by England Cricket Board for his misbehaviour with the umpire.
No doubt, Haroon Rashid is soft spoken and a thorough gentleman, but he has limitations, as tackling the media people, especially Indian and Western, is a different ball game.
INDIAN TOUR:
While appointing managers, the PCB should keep in mind the notoriety of the biased Western media, which specialises in making mountain of a mole hill, hence persons having good working relationship with foreign media should be appointed as managers.
Now Pakistan, after 1999, will be touring India from February 25 for three-Test and five One-day International (ODI) series, it is hoped that the PCB management will keep in mind the hostile posture by both the crowd and the media.
It is true that big boys play during night, but it is the duty of the managers to enforce discipline and ensure that "big boys" should not play during nights with a view to remaining fit to play during the day, as after spending sleepless nights, no one can expect better performance from players with night hangover.
However, the PCB high-ups should realise their mistakes and devolve powers to avoid recurrence of such incidents, which bring bad name to the nation and the country.
Moreover, to put the game back on its tracks, an immediate end to ad hocism and start democratisation of the Cricket Board will certainly revitalise the cricket system.
It is good to learn that the PCB will soon implement a new constitution.