The last thing a country wants after bagging the hosting rights for a global sports tournament is to not be ready on time. As things stand right now, Pakistan find themselves staring at that worst-case scenario as it races against time to complete work on venues scheduled to host the non-India Champions Trophy matches. It has already missed two deadlines—December 31 and January 25—and now looks set to miss the third one as well, on January 31. According to reports from the country, Pakistan will now try to finish the renovation work at Lahore’s Gaddafi stadium by February 2. 

A few reports have suggested that the PCB were forced to restrict the entry of journalists at stadiums in Karachi and Lahore to save face. Also, as of January 25, work for the seats and digital screens was reportedly still incomplete at the Gaddafi stadium, which is scheduled to host four matches, including the Australia vs England clash on February 22 and the second semi-final on March 5. A raft of videos on social media, filmed by ordinary people, show the sorry state of the venues currently.

Why ICC Is Responsible Too

Interestingly, the focus shifted to the state of the stadiums only after the issue of India not willing to travel to Pakistan was settled. The powers that be in the PCB could have perhaps spent a little more energy trying to hasten the pace of work rather than trying to ensure that all matches are played on Pakistan soil.

While the initial criticism for the slow pace of work—Pakistan has reportedly spent upwards of Rs 372 crore on renovation at the three centres—should be directed at their cricket board, the International Cricket Council (ICC) will also have to shoulder a lot of the responsibility. Which is why when news of Geoff Allardice stepping down as the ICC CEO was revealed barely three weeks before the start of the tournament, it wasn’t a huge surprise. This is being seen as the first big head to roll because of the laggard work at the venues in Pakistan—work that Allardice was in charge of overseeing. The fact that no thought was given to keeping a hybrid model ready, with India playing their matches at a neutral venue, was also a big failure. The decision to award the tournament to Pakistan was taken in November 2021 by an ICC Board chaired by former ICC Chairman Greg Barclay, the gentleman Jay Shah took the reins from. As many as three other officials, including the head of events, the head of marketing and communications and the head of the anti-corruption unit had stepped down citing personal reasons after the much-criticised T20 World Cup last year. They were all part of Barclay’s team.

Good Old Days

Regardless of the ultimate fate of the Champions Trophy this time, there is no doubt that the current ICC leadership group will be taking a close, hard look at the whole fiasco. Two things that they need to keep in mind in the future, while considering awarding Pakistan hosting rights of global events are a hybrid model—so that India’s games can be played at a neutral venue—and the overall state of sports governance and policy strength in the country.

Perhaps the biggest indicator of how much both governance and policies in Pakistan have crumbled over the decades is the country’s overall decline in global sports performances. There was a time when Pakistan was synonymous with excellence in sports like field hockey, cricket, squash and boxing. Three Olympic gold medals in men’s hockey, three ICC titles, six World Squash Team Championship titles and an Olympic bronze in boxing came from those glory days. Athletes like Sohail Abbas, Waseem Ahmed, Asif Iqbal, Zaheer Abbas, Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Javed Miandad, Hashim Khan, Jahangir Khan, Jansher Khan and Syed Hussain Shah, among many others, were global superstars, across decades.

But that was a long time ago. The decline has been slow, but very steady. Administrations failed to put in place forward-looking systems and that really hurt Pakistani sports. There’s a reason why Arshad Nadeem’s Paris Olympic gold in men’s javelin throw was celebrated with so much gusto—not just because it was the country’s first Olympic medal in 22 years, but because it somewhat quenched the thirst for global sporting success, something the country hadn’t experienced consistently in a very long time.

What Ruined Pakistan’s Sports Ecosystem

Pakistan just couldn’t keep pace with the changing face and pace of global sports. Sports like hockey, cricket and squash have all evolved into almost completely different games from the time Pakistan dominated them. That, coupled with charges of corruption, mismanagement, extremely irregular government support and policies that ignored most sports apart from cricket, saw Pakistan fall behind in the race to be a global sporting powerhouse. Many a sports journalist in Pakistan have written articles over the years about the steady decline they have witnessed.

Ironically, Pakistan is still a hub for manufacturing high-quality sports equipment. However, that is not a parameter to gauge if a country’s sports ecosystem is robust. And though cricket has been the biggest and most popular sport in the country for a while, the sport’s administration hasn’t really been spared some of the scourges that plague other games and the country’s overall sports health. The PCB has seen as many as three different chairmen since 2022; allegations of vested interests and political interference have hastened the decline of Pakistan cricket. Just December last year, former Australian cricketer Jason Gilespie stepped down as Pakistan’s Test coach. He told ABC Sport that he was kept in the dark and “blindsided” by the PCB over key decisions. Former bowling great Waqar Younis was brought on board as an advisor to the PCB Chairman, but then, he was suddenly made the mentor of a domestic team in the Champions T20 Cup. In August last year, after Pakistan lost to Bangladesh by 10 wickets in a Test match at home in Rawalpindi, former Pakistan head coach Mudassar Nazar, who had played almost 200 international matches for Pakistan, said the PCB was “full of confused people” making “mistake after mistake”. Former Pakistan Test opener Ahmed Shehzad said he has “never seen Pakistan cricket sink so low”.

Going by reports, for the Champions Trophy this time, the PCB has undertaken the largest venue renovation exercise since 1996—the last time the country hosted an ICC event. Many in the PCB will be having sleepless nights right now. The question is, what kind of notes is the new ICC regime taking?

(The author is a former sports editor and primetime sports news anchor. He is currently a columnist, features writer and stage actor)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author

Chandigarh:

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday attacked the Centre, asking if the BJP-led government will not allow the protesting farmers camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri border to enter Delhi, should he “send them to Lahore”.

Farmers from Punjab, led by Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM), began the ‘Delhi Chalo’ march on February 13 to press the government to accept their demands which include that the Centre should give a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) for crops.

They were stopped by the Haryana Police, which had set up barricades, including cemented blocks, on the Ambala-New Delhi national highway. The farmers have been camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points since then.

“At Khanauri and Shambhu, the border has been fortified with iron nails and barricading so that farmers cannot enter Delhi. The government runs from Delhi so they will go there. If they will not go to Delhi, should I send them to Lahore?” Mr Mann said, while addressing a public meeting in poll-bound Haryana.

The chief minister addressed two rallies — one in Hisar’s Barwala and the other in Sirsa’s Dabwali. Haryana goes to polls later this year and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has said it will contest on all the 90 seats.

At the Barwala event, the chief minister said even four years ago, the farmers were stopped from entering Delhi.

“As many as 726 farmers died during the farmers’ protest against the now repealed farm laws when they were stopped earlier,” he added.

Mr Mann alleged that people of Haryana gave chance to different parties but they all looted the state.

“If a doctor is not able to cure an ailment then the doctor should be changed,” the AAP leader said, adding that like Delhi and Punjab voters, people of Haryana should also “vote for ‘badlav’ (change) this time”.

Mr Mann touched upon several initiatives of the AAP governments in Punjab and Delhi.

In Punjab, 43,000 government jobs have been given purely on merit basis, the chief minister claimed.

“There have been paper leak incidents in Haryana but in Punjab, you will not hear such things,” Mr Mann added.

He said Punjab and Haryana are brothers.

“We may have become separate states but our hearts are one,” Mr Mann said.

“We are giving 600 units of free electricity to everyone per billing cycle of two months in Punjab,” he said.

Mr Mann said the AAP government in Delhi has reformed the government schools.

“Children of poor families are cracking top competitive exams in Delhi now,” he said.

“We have taken the government to people’s doorsteps to facilitate them and make their lives better,” Mr Mann said.

He urged the people of Haryana not to be carried away by the promises being made by the BJP and the Congress.

“Earlier, they (BJP and Congress) used to rule by turns and people had no other option, but now they have an alternative in the AAP,” Mr Mann said.

“The BJP has been in power for 10 years. Did they give you any job or did they undertake development?” he asked, while addressing the gathering.

“I am told if it rains for one minute in Barwala, people have to take out boats. Such is the situation,” Mann said.

Attacking the BJP government at the Centre, he said during the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP talked of “400 paar” but now they are running their government with the support of allies.

“Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal belongs to Haryana and he changed the direction of the country’s politics. He had said the BJP will change the Constitution if they get overwhelming majority. Thankfully, they did not get majority, otherwise they would have changed the Constitution,” Mr Mann said.

Meanwhile, at Dabwali, Mr Mann told the gathering that with nearly three months to go for the Haryana polls, the BJP will give “lollipops”.

“They gave this lollipop during the Lok Sabha elections also, when they claimed to have reduced cooking gas cylinder price after hiking it manifold. Be wary of their lollipops,” Mr Mann said.

Further taking a dig at the BJP, he said, “They keeping about double-engine (government). Then they changed one engine midway replacing (Manohar Lal) Khattar. Was the engine defective or what happened? Now, they brought another engine.” He told the people of Haryana that the country does not need double engine but it needs a new engine.

“Only one engine is sufficient. Otherwise you may have five engines but what will they do if they are not good?” said Mr Mann.

He also talked about several initiatives of his government in Punjab taken for the welfare of various sections. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

A disturbing incident of medical negligence has come to light in Pakistan, where hospital authorities have been accused of swapping a baby boy with a dead baby girl, the Dawn reported. According to an official statement, the parents brought their four-day-old sick baby boy to a Children’s Hospital in Lahore after he fell ill. During the treatment, doctors at the hospital declared the boy dead and handed over the body to his father. But when the father took the body to his hometown, Gujranwala, for burial, he was shocked to find it was a girl. He immediately rushed back to the hospital with the body of the girl, claiming that they had brought their baby boy for treatment. 

According to Dawn, this incident has prompted an investigation. After learning of the shocking accusations, the hospital authorities launched an inquiry into the matter. Later, the hospital authorities found that the baby boy had reportedly gone “missing,” the official said. 

In his formal complaint, the father detailed the sequence of events and accused the hospital of substituting his son with the dead girl’s body. He urged the police to lodge a case against the hospital’s managerial officials and the doctors concerned for committing the crime and demanded the recovery of his son. 

The Punjab Health Department in Pakistan swiftly responded to the incident, forming an inquiry committee comprising three senior doctors from the Children’s Hospital. The team was tasked with conducting a thorough investigation and submitting a detailed report to uncover the truth, per the outlet.

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In its findings, the committee declared that the investigating officers questioned all the relevant staff, including doctors, nurses and paramedics, who remained at the neonatal unit where the baby boy was provided treatment. They also examined the footage of the CCTV cameras. 

During their investigation, the hospital management claimed that the parents had themselves taken away the male baby from the hospital against medical advice, without explaining the issue of baby “exchange”. The report also stated that the condition of the newborn got critical despite all possible treatments, and the doctors shifted him to the high-dependency unit to put him on ventilator support. However, the parents of the patient refused to get further treatment and left the hospital along with the baby after signing the Leave Against Medical Advice form, the report said. 

The report did not address the issue of the alleged exchange of the babies. Meanwhile, police have lodged an FIR on the complaint regarding the alleged swapping of the baby boy with the dead baby girl by the hospital staff. The investigation is ongoing.

Pakistan lifts the ICC Champions Trophy after beating India in the finals in London on June 18, 2017.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

The Pakistan Cricket Board has earmarked Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi as venues for next year’s Champions Trophy, continuing to insist that the tournament will stay in the country despite speculation of a ‘hybrid model’ being under consideration to ensure India’s participation.

The Champions Trophy, which was last held in England in 2017, is expected to be held tentatively in February-March next year.

India have not yet confirmed participation and there is speculation that the ICC could use the ‘Hybrid Model’ and hold the country’s matches at a neutral venue if the team does not get government clearance to travel. The ICC has already made it clear that it will not ask any member nation to defy government policy.

“We’ve sent the schedule for the matches in Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi said at a press conference in Lahore.

“The ICC’s security team came and we had a very good meeting. They looked at arrangements here and we’ll also share stadium upgrade plans with them.

“We are trying to ensure we host a very good tournament in Pakistan,” Naqvi informed.

The PCB has been steadfast in insisting that the tournament will not be altered in any way to accommodate India.

The ‘Hybrid Model’ of hosting was used in the Asia Cup last year. The Asian Cricket Council, headed by BCCI secretary Jay Shah, held India’s matches in Sri Lanka even though Pakistan was the official host of the tournament.

Naqvi also conceded that condition of all three proposed venues is currently sub-standard in terms of hosting international games of cricket.

“If you look at Gaddafi (here), it is good but the viewing experience is not great for cricket. Football maybe, not cricket,” Naqvi said.

“We need to improve facilities in the stadiums, where there are some old problems. Karachi is in bad shape. So on May 7, we will finalise bids from international companies who will come and help us design.

“We are already late but we need to do these upgrades in four-five months. It will be a very tough test but we can do it.,” Naqvi concluded.

File photo of Maryam Nawaz.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has once again landed in trouble, as the Session Court has been moved against her for donning a police uniform while attending a passing-out parade on April 25, according to ARY News.

In his plea, the plaintiff claimed that Ms. Nawaz’s wearing of a police official’s uniform was “unlawful.” The plea stated that no one is permitted to wear the official state institution outfit. The petitioner said that despite Ms. Nawaz’s plea to the police, no action was taken against her.

The petitioner begged the judge to provide instructions to file a complaint against Ms. Nawaz, the Chief Minister of Punjab. The case’s hearing was postponed by the Court until April 29, as per ARY News.

Wearing the uniform, Punjab Chief Minister (CM) MS. Nawaz, notably participated in a police passing-out parade in Lahore. The Chief Minister of Punjab bestowed a guard of honour and presented awards to the Police Training College’s outstanding achievers, reported ARY News.

Notably, Ms. Nawaz, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) nominee, had made history by becoming Punjab’s first female Chief Minister. She secured 220 votes in the election, triumphing over her opponent, Rana Aftab Ahmad of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), who received zero votes due to a boycott by SIC members.

The Punjab Assembly session, presided over by newly-elected Speaker Malik Ahmad Khan, witnessed opposition members from the Sunni Ittehad Council boycotting the proceedings. Speaker Mr. Khan declared that only elections for the Chief Minister would take place, and no lawmakers were permitted to speak during the session, according to ARY News.