The Pak-Afghan story

 We all like stories because they give us chills and thrills. They give us moments; they give us something to imagine and above all they provide us with conflict; the conflict between the hero and the villain. These two characters are the mainstay of any story. A hero though is allowed to be evil as evilness is for a greater cause however, whatever good a villain does, he lives and dies a villain, and no amount of good can change his fate, it feels that the writer is somehow himself an ardent fan of the hero. Thus, whenever you will hear an Afghan story, you find a common villain, and how good he does, he still remains the villain, you know him, his name is Pakistan.

As I am writing these lines, the repatriation of the illegal Afghan refugees is underway. Social media platforms are flooded with many moving pictures and testimonials of the refugees leaving Pakistan. The population of Pakistan was 77.41 million in 1979 and in 1980 there were more than 4 million Afghan refugees living in Pakistan, the number only swelled in the following years. This made the Afghan refugees around 5% of Pakistan's total population at that point in time. This minor stat only tells you how arduous it was and is for Pakistan to host the refugees as it entails political, economic, religious, and social ramifications for the State of Pakistan and its people.

We as a country have seen so many lows but hosting the Afghan refugees is amongst the few highs that are there in our history. We relived the Mawakhat-e-Madinah by hosting such a large number of refugees. We shared whatever we had; we opened our socio-economic space to them. Although, in the popular culture, many blame Pakistan for what has happened and is happening in Afghanistan while doing that they conveniently ignore that international relations is a two-way street and work on the principle of reciprocity. The idea of a nation-state is at heart an exclusionary idea, and nation-states look at the world from the prism of their myopic national interests. As the history will tell us, Pakistan and Afghanistan were no exceptions. Both somehow had to deal with designs of great powers and amidst all also had to navigate and protect their interests. Pakistan cannot be blamed for what happened in post-Zahir Shah Afghanistan, the rise of Socialism, and the bloody Saur Revolution leading to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The Afghan civil war of the ’90s, and the rise, fall, and rise of the Afghan Taliban is a blame that Pakistan may share as I said Pakistan was pursuing its own interests like Afghanistan did whenever it got the opportunity and the vitality.   
Now coming back to the question of the repatriation of the refugees to Afghanistan, the state of Pakistan is surely looking to achieve something out of all this. One prime reason has been the resurgence of the menace of terrorism in the country. Through the repatriation, Pakistan would get a chance to discover and dismantle the sleeper cells of TTP. This could also be used as an opportunity, to push the Taliban-led Afghan interim government to reign in the Indian proxies which once again are now using the Afghan soil to carry out terrorist activities in Pakistan. This has always been a source of grave concern for Pakistan and has been one impetus for it to stay involved in Afghanistan. Another stimulant could be the Pakhtoon nationalism which in recent years especially when Ashraf Ghani was in power in Kabul has returned to the level of 80’s and 70’s. The creation of PTM is often cited as a manifestation of that rise in Pakhtoon nationalism, but it would be pertinent to mention here that there were indigenous push factors too that served as a basis for rise in the Pakhtoon nationalism. Other than that, the economic limitations of the state of Pakistan must have also been a consideration and this initiative can be a tactic to get international donor agencies like UNHCR and ICRC further involved with the state of Pakistan in helping it to support the Afghan refugees.

Above could be Pakistan’s reasons for deporting the illegal Afghan refugees on its soil. However, there is a silver lining in all this for the Afghan Taliban as well. It is not going to be an easy task but being able to rehabilitate the returning Afghans will put them above the Karzias and the Ghanis. This could also serve as an impetus for the international community especially the donor agencies to directly to engage with them to let this all not turn into a humanitarian crisis. Something the interim government of Afghanistan really needs and wants.

In the end, one thing is for sure this decision must not have been an easy one for Pakistan as the amount of goodwill that Pakistan has garnered over the years by hosting the Afghan refugees will be marred by this but the Afghans and the Taliban must understand the compulsions of Pakistan and also both brotherly countries should partner in smooth repatriation and rehabilitation of the Aghan refugees and above anything jointly work towards ensuring long-lasting peace in Afghanistan and an establishment of the people-led Afghan government in Kabul. 

An Ode to M.S. Dhoni

 It was the cricket world cup of 2015 and India had just once again beaten Pakistan in a world cup game, while talking to the press in a post-match press conference, the then-Indian team captain M.S. Dhoni while commenting on India’s unbeaten tournament record against Pakistan said “But a time will come when we will lose to them. This record won't stay for the rest of our lives. We should not forget that Pakistan has a better overall record than us. They are a fantastic side and it is never easy to beat them.”  This statement is just a glimmer of what Dhoni was and is to cricket. His repertoire as the Indian captain and the success that he garnered as the leader of the Indian team speaks volumes about his cricketing acumen and leadership potential but this is just one aspect of his game. As a cricketer and sportsman, his contribution to the game is far bigger. With his humility and game ethics, he kept cricket, cricket.  The guy respected the game he played and in return, he earned the respect of the game.

Dhoni’s cricketing journey is an example for not only the budding cricketers but he also is an example for any professional. Humility, calmness, and keen observation have always been a hallmark of his game and it is only because of this, he has been able to manage admirers outside of India.

His glovework has always been impressive. His lightning-fast stumpings and acrobatic catching behind the stumps are a sight for sore eyes. On top of it, his batting and then his ability to finish the game with the bat was unparallel. In recent history, only somebody like Michael Bevan can be quoted as an example or can be equated with Dhoni when it comes to finishing the game with a bat.   

It is quite obvious from Dhoni’s career that he has always excelled whenever he has been presented with a challenge and he has been taking challenges head-on since the start of his career. He scored a big fat hundred against Pakistan in an ODI when he was promoted to the number three position in a team that boosted players like Sehwag, Tendulkar, Ganguly, and Dravid. Similarly, when he was made the captain of the Indian T20 side for the inaugural T20 world cup, he ended up winning it. That last over given by him to Joginder Sharma had the potential to go down as the biggest mistake made by a captain in cricketing history but as fortune always favors the brave, that bet of his paid off. It was only Dhoni who could play such a bold hand. His leadership style has this unique blend of proactiveness, calmness, and risk-taking. Making India a more than formidable cricketing side at home and a competitive side overseas is among his many achievements as a captain and player.

The Dhoni story can never be completed without mentioning his IPL record. He represented Chennai Super Kings and Rising Supergiant (2016 & 2017) in his IPL career. His real contribution came up with the Super Kings as its captain he has led them to 5 IPL titles. This makes him one of the most successful captains in the history of IPL.

As all the good things come to an end someday, M.S. has also bid farewell to all kinds of competitive cricket and the final of the recently concluded IPL was his last appearance for his IPL team. He will surely be missed, in the death overs, behind the stumps, and in a pressure cooker situation. Dhoni the player has stopped playing but his legacy will live on.   

Realizing Pakistan Cricket's Financial Potential

 Cricket has changed. It is no longer just a game; it has a financial side to it as well and gradually this side has attained the place of being the most important aspect of the game. You win or lose, the net worth of your biggest star, how much cricket you are going to get it all comes to the finances or the financial side of the game. At the moment, it is the end, and the game of cricket has been reduced to just being a means to the end. Elaborating on the point I raised above, today's amount of cricket a team gets is directly proportional to financial dividends attributed to its cricket which is why the big three (India, Australia & England) play each more often than the rest of the boards. It is hurting that someone like Babar who is a once-in-a-generation player is only going to get 15 games in the 2024 to 2027 cycle. This is a grave injustice to the player and the game.

The change that I talked about earlier is not our doing. When the game was changing, we were in isolation. The year 2010, changed Pakistan cricket for good and bad. Bad because we had already lost the privilege of playing cricket in Pakistan but we also lost our credibility which hampered our brand’s value and good because the Lord’s experience helped us to develop a new cricketing culture in Pakistan which was very different from the one, we had in the 90’s. It was this good change and the able leadership of Misbah ul Haq that made us the number 1 test team in the world. Those push-ups in Lord’s rejuvenated the brand that was Pakistan. As they say “you can keep cricket out of Pakistan but you cannot keep Pakistan out of cricket” so that isolation ended eventually but left Pakistan cricket lagging behind the rest of the world. PCB with whatever means it had, tried to bridge the gap. It started PSL on foreign shores, it helped revive cricket especially the financial side of things. Gave us stars who were marketable, then Babar Azam happened and Pakistan won the Champions Trophy in 2017 and also attained the 1st spot in ICC’s T20 ranking, and now when I am writing these lines Pakistan sits at the number two spot in ICC’s ODI rankings but still after all this the brand Pakistan is undervalued. Though, the recent profit-sharing formula proposed by ICC gives PCB the biggest share in ICC revenues after the Big Three countries but Pakistan’s value is more than what it is getting in the proposed formula. Though this idea of profit-sharing itself is not so good for the development of the game but it is what it is.

Pakistan has the tools and resources to become a financial powerhouse of the game; it has history, the game is popular in the nook and corner of the country, it has a good team with bankable and marketable stars. Pakistan should keep on marketing and developing them this will help its brand like PSL too and it also should look at ways through which it may increase the amount of cricket it is getting.

Now this brings me to the real question which this piece will try to answer and that is realizing Pakistan cricket’s financial potential. What Pakistan should do to increase the value of its cricketing economy?

The first order of the day is a standard one. Pakistan should look to invest in the game. The quality and competitiveness of domestic cricket should be improved. This will not only be achieved through better equipment, coaching staff, or player salaries, PCB should also invest in the infrastructure. The facilities that are imperative for the development of the game. There is a need to improve the game experience for the players but also for the spectators. The stadiums- new and old, should be designed in a way that the spectators enjoy themselves there. More international cricket can be very helpful in this regard.   

Pakistan is to host the Asia Cup this August but due to India’s political limitations, they are not willing to travel to Pakistan. PCB has contemplated options like boycotting the upcoming world cup in India to proposing a hybrid model where Indian matches are to be played outside of Pakistan. The second option has been shot down by the boards of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. What are Pakistan’s options now it is important to remember that we are the hosts of 2025’s ICC Champions Trophy as well.

The current conundrum demands from Pakistan, realpolitik not hyperbolic rhetoric. First thing first, Pakistan should travel to India for the world cup. We are strong contenders to lift the cup later this year, we should not tinker with our chances of world cup glory. Someone as great as Babar deserves every bit of opportunity to create a legacy of his own and winning a world cup will go a long way in doing that his cricketing legacy will surely help the game in Pakistan too. Secondly, though this is going to be a very unpopular suggestion Pakistan should offer India to play its games in Mohali or Chandigarh, these two destinations are closer to Pakistan and logistics are also workable.

I know doing this will not mean that India will travel to Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy in 2025 but there is a need to keep our options open and keep our eyes on the greater and bigger picture. Once Pakistan would be an economic powerhouse of cricket only then we would be able to get feasible conditions. There could also be India pulling containment strategies on us and not traveling to Pakistan, which could be their way of doing it but still we must tread this path with rationality and minimal emotionality and most importantly understand that the “game” has changed.