The Oval fiasco has taken its toll of no less an important person than Shaharyar M. Khan who "resigned" as Chairman of the Ad hoc committee of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
Interestingly, the PCB Chief Patron, President Pervez Musharraf, took quite some time to accept the resignation of Lieutenant General Tauqir Zia (retd) soon after the debacle in 2003 World Cup, but in the case of Shaharyar Khan, the PCB Chief Patron did not waste time in accepting his resignation and appointing Dr Nasim Ashraf as the new chief of the PCB Ad hoc Committee.
However, The Oval fracas is over with Pakistan losing the winning Test match as forfeited to England, and a four-match ban on captain Inzamam-ul-Haq. Anyhow, former career diplomat Shaharyar Khan and his aides, who had not fully recovered from The Oval trauma, were shocked by Younus Khan's refusal to lead Pakistan team in the Champions Trophy, arguing that he did not want to be a "dummy captain" in the backdrop of a four-match ban imposed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq.
For quite some time it was noticed that all was not well in the PCB and there were elements who were inciting players against Younus Khan, a true follower of his mentor, former captain Rashid Lateef, who never compromised on principles. However, a dejected and disturbed Shaharyar Khan has tendered his resignation to the PCB Chief Patron.
But insiders, close to the corridors of power, revealed that the PCB Chief Patron, President Pervez Musharraf, was not happy with Shaharyar Khan and his aides for failing to tackle The Oval incident in an effective manner and decided to replace Shaharyar with a person of his liking.
ZAHEER'S ADVICE IGNORED: According to the sources, the PCB Chief Patron was informed that when team manager Zaheer Abbas told skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq now that the protest had been registered against umpire Darrell Hair and his unilateral decision, Pakistan should go to the ground and resume the game, but Inzamam refused to act on Zaheer's advice, and instead told him to ask the players if they were willing to take to the field.
As such, the team members said they could not go to the ground without their captain. All this drama was staged in the presence of the PCB top brass, including Shaharyar Khan, Abbas Zaidi and Dr Nasim Ashraf, but they did not pressurise Inzamam to go to the ground.
Cricket circles are of the opinion that Shaharyar Khan, who since his take over as the Ad hoc Committee Chairman three years ago, stressing the need for discipline, has failed to enforce the writ of the Cricket Board and succumbed to the "players power." They opined that the PCB chief too was responsible for bringing the game into disrepute.
While Inzamam was banned for four one-day games by ICC match referee Ranjan Madugalle, back home the stage was set for the exit of Shaharyar for bringing disgrace to Pakistan. Newspaper reports said that the Presidency was flooded with complaints regarding Shaharyar Khan's failure to handle The Oval incident. As a result Shaharyar Khan received a phone call from the Presidency asking him to step down.
Consequently, Sharayar faxed his resignation to the President. Immediately after receiving Shaharyar's resignation, the President named the PCB Ad hoc Committee member Dr Nasim Ashraf as new chairman of the board. While Shaharyar's three-year tenure was to end in December, there was no mention about the tenure of Dr Nasim Ashraf, who is a former First Class cricketer, having played three matches of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy for Peshawar during 1969-70. He is also Chairman of the National Commission for Human Resource Development (NCHRD).
CHANGE OF HANDS: Though mystery shrouds Younus Khan's refusal to lead the side a day before the team's departure to India and soon after the change of hands at the top level in the PCB, Dr Nasim Ashraf's surprise announcement came just hours before the team was due to leave for India that Younus Khan would lead the team.
It is certain that the new PCB chief, who was also present in the Pakistan dressing room at Oval ground and was witness to the entire drama, must have noticed the reaction of Younus Khan, who was reportedly not in agreement with Inzamam and his supporter to boycott the game.
Despite intrigues and politicking in the Cricket Board and tussle between Shaharyar Khan and his Director Cricket Operations Salim Altaf, Pakistan showed some consistency in winning Test series against England, Sri Lanka and West Indies, but his all out support to former England opener and Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer has always been questioned by former Test stars.
Things were not at all smooth in the Board as Shaharyar did not rely on those who had been with Tauqir Zia. During his tenure, first to go was PCB Media Manager Sami-ul-Hassan, followed prominent cricket commentator Chishty Mujahid and then National Stadium Director Irfan Mirza and many others. He did not spare even former captain and coach Javed Miandad, who was replaced by Bob Woolmer.
His reliance on Woolmer can be judged from the appointments of trainer, physiotherapist and engaging a fielding coach, who are all South Africans.
FREQUENT CHANGE OF MANAGERS: The Oval issue also led to the sacking of team manager Zaheer Abbas and he was replaced by Talat Ali. During his tenure, Pakistan experienced frequent change of managers, which badly hampered continuity in the policy of team management.
However, the controversy at The Oval made things nasty for Shaharyar Khan and his team, and the most saddened man in this drama will be none other than Bob Woolmer against whom Shaharyar was not ready to listen.
However, the coming days would clear the air if Woolmer, who came close to quitting over the ball-tampering row, will be kept in the seat or would he follow Abbas Zaidi, who resigned as PCB Media Director, saying that since he was brought in the PCB by the man who had resigned, hence "I tender my resignation."
All said and done, one hopes that Dr Nasim Ashraf, being a former First Class cricketer must have realised how much damage has been done to the game during the over seven-year ad hocism, which kept the main stakeholders -- affiliated regional and district associations -- away from the PCB affairs.
It is heartening to note that the new PCB chief has vowed to take the associations into confidence and run the PCB as a corporate body and on democratic lines. He also promised that a new draft of PCB constitution would be submitted to the Chief Patron for his approval with a view to bringing an end to ad hocism in the Cricket Board as soon as possible.