Its rarely that Shoaib Akhtar says anything sensible, but here it appears that he very well may have.
Pakistan's cricket team, specially these days isn't made up of a wide array of worldly, informed and well-educated individuals, like in the past. This team doesn't really have any Imran Khans, Mohsin Khans, Mudassar Nazars or Rameez Rajas. This team is lead by a man from Multan, who's detractors up until 3 years ago didn't want him to be captain because he couldn't speak English despite 10+ years of international cricket. Mohammad Yousuf is from a poor locality in Lahore, while Younis Khan is from Mardan, hardly a hotbed of information regarding doping and pharmaceuticals. One could say this about almost of the players in the team, going down the list.
Even if one leaves out the issues regarding personal education and the places where most of the cricketers come from, the other continuing issue is the experience many of the players have prior to beginning to play International cricket. The majority of these players did not come from high-end academies or after extensive domestic first class experience. They are not sportsmen in the international sense of the term, with knowledge regarding rules and current issues in sports ethics and administration. I mean, this is a squad where even their knowledge of the finer points of the rules of cricket has been repeatedly brought up, and even a player like Inzamam with multiple years of experience is often found lacking in this regard.
My point here is not to criticize the players, because they are not the ones to blame. They are professionals, and it is the responsibility of the team's management and the board to ensure that players are properly educated regarding drugs, nutritional supplements and proper medical care, as it relates to sports. In 2006, how could an international squad of a major sport be without a physician, a nutritionist and even access to a sports psychologist, I do not know. It is the PCB and the team management that have the burden of providing this and ensuring that all players in the domestic and international circuit are aware of all of these issues. For once, the PCB better listen to Shoaib Akhtar.
Pakistan's cricket team, specially these days isn't made up of a wide array of worldly, informed and well-educated individuals, like in the past. This team doesn't really have any Imran Khans, Mohsin Khans, Mudassar Nazars or Rameez Rajas. This team is lead by a man from Multan, who's detractors up until 3 years ago didn't want him to be captain because he couldn't speak English despite 10+ years of international cricket. Mohammad Yousuf is from a poor locality in Lahore, while Younis Khan is from Mardan, hardly a hotbed of information regarding doping and pharmaceuticals. One could say this about almost of the players in the team, going down the list.
Even if one leaves out the issues regarding personal education and the places where most of the cricketers come from, the other continuing issue is the experience many of the players have prior to beginning to play International cricket. The majority of these players did not come from high-end academies or after extensive domestic first class experience. They are not sportsmen in the international sense of the term, with knowledge regarding rules and current issues in sports ethics and administration. I mean, this is a squad where even their knowledge of the finer points of the rules of cricket has been repeatedly brought up, and even a player like Inzamam with multiple years of experience is often found lacking in this regard.
My point here is not to criticize the players, because they are not the ones to blame. They are professionals, and it is the responsibility of the team's management and the board to ensure that players are properly educated regarding drugs, nutritional supplements and proper medical care, as it relates to sports. In 2006, how could an international squad of a major sport be without a physician, a nutritionist and even access to a sports psychologist, I do not know. It is the PCB and the team management that have the burden of providing this and ensuring that all players in the domestic and international circuit are aware of all of these issues. For once, the PCB better listen to Shoaib Akhtar.
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