Life after Ijaz Butt

October 8 has Brought two major calamities for the people of Pakistan in the recent history; 1) The devastating Earthquake of 2005 and 2) The start of a horrible tenure of Ijaz Butt, the Chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board, in 2008. As Cricket is followed like a religion in this country, these 3 years have been like a nightmare for every cricket lover in Pakistan.

Fine, Ijaz Butt was not responsible for the terrorist attack on Sri Lankan Team's bus which happened just a few months after his tenure started. It wouldn't have been easy for any administrator to run the cricket affairs at that time but blunders after blunders along with weak leadership was enough to put Pakistan Cricket astray. From change of captains till the removal of coaches; from receiving resignations by 3 senior cheaf selectors till the imposition of life bans on senior players, from U-turn on life bans till the favoritism in the management staff, Ijaz Butt didn't leave any stone unturned in disgracing Pakistan at the world level. No efforts were being made to bring International Cricket back in Pakistan. Minnows like Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Afghanistan could have easily visited Pakistan to revive international cricket in the country but the 'business minded ' Butt's first priority was a healthy financial gain. Team shattered during his reign when 8 players swore upon The Holy Book to remove an honest captain when he was on giving solid results. His tenure gave rise to players power as he was a weak administrator.  

Butt's tenure is taking its last breath and it has been in the news that Ali Raza, a business man, is about to fill in the big shoes of Ijaz Butt. Some people will argue that a non cricketing administrator cannot run the affairs of PCB but i have my own opinion. Life after Ijaz Butt can be like a sunrise after a prolonged state of darkness.

A businessman will first of all bring a variety of sponsors and attract them to invest on Team which is going to enhance the performance of players. 

He'll sort out the sour relationships of PCB with other boards and will try to regain the lost reputation in ICC.

A new chairman means that Shahid Afridi is going to announce the cancellation of his retirement, can a Pakistani fan ask for more than to see Boom Boom playing as soon as possible for Pakistan?. The musical chair of captaincy, team selection and U-turns on previous decisions will cease most probably which is going to provide a stable environment for players to perform on the field. 

In short, even though a non-cricketing chairman will not be accepted whole-heartedly by masses, Pakistan Cricket Board is in a dire need of a strict and staunch administrator who does his own job and let others do their own work without interference. We all hope for a better future of Pakistan Cricket under a new chairman as it can't get worse than what we have have been seeing during the last few years. Life after Ijaz Butt is a sign of hope and as far as I can see, the new tenure will mark the rise in Pakistan Cricket again.