These are not the thoughts of the 18-year-old Mohammad Amir, who played his part in Pakistan’s World Twenty20 triumph last year. Those words came from Robin Uthappa, now 24, in an interview with Cricinfo. With Amir now suspended and likely to face a ban from all forms of cricket, we should focus on what Uthappa says. Make no mistake, Indian or Pakistani, every young player who comes into the bubble is vulnerable.
In Amir’s case, especially so. When Pepsi made a commercial in Pakistan earlier this year, he was one of those they signed on, along with Call, the music group, and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi, the tennis player who partners India’s Rohan Bopanna. The ad was about striving hard to be successful, no matter what your background, and Amir, who comes from the nondescript village of Changa Bangyal in Punjab’s Gujjar Khan district, exemplified that.
His heroics in England last summer – he took the crucial wicket of Tillakaratne Dilshan in the final at Lord’s – prompted spontaneous celebrations back home, with folk trekking from neighbouring villages to his family home. In the true traditions of Pakistani hospitality, they made sure that everyone got tea and rotis.
After his 11 wickets helped square the series against Australia, his proud brother-in-law spoke of how far Amir had come. “He grew up playing in these very fields,” he said. “He hasn’t reached the team through a parchi [lottery] system, the kid has talent. I would like to request the former cricketers to please not raise their voices or hoot against these kids. The poor things play under pressure.”
Those words carry extra resonance now. What kind of pressure was Amir under when he bowled those two blatantly obvious no-balls at Lord’s? Was there just financial incentive, or had the gangsters and scamsters who once kidnapped Wasim Akram’s father got to him as well? How well-placed are we to judge a boy who didn’t even become eligible to vote till a few months ago?
The International Cricket Council says that Amir, like every other player, was briefed about corruption and told what to do in the event of an approach. That’s fine in theory, but this is Pakistan cricket you’re talking about. The patron-in-chief, the president, isn’t referred to as Mr 10 Percent for nothing. Ijaz Butt, who heads the board, is the brother-in-law of the defence minister. There are at least three players who owe their place in the side to connections they have with board officials or politicians. When Malcolm Speed, the former ICC chief executive, called Butt a “buffoon” and labelled Pakistan cricket a “basket case”, it ruffled feathers, but he was merely vocalising what a great number, within and outside Pakistan, feel.
Anti-apartheid acitvists pressed for a sporting boycott of South Africa on the grounds that there could be no normal sport in an abnormal society. And while a ban on Pakistan cricket is no solution, it’s imperative that we don’t view Amir’s case through a normal lens.
Teenagers make mistakes, big and small. They’re easily led astray, especially by those they look up to. In a culture where even the team’s seniors are only ever looking out for themselves, what kind of guidance would he have got? How insecure was he as a result of the stress fractures he suffered on an Under-19 tour of England? We will know the answers to these questions only if Amir comes clean about what happened.
If Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif are found guilty of spot-fixing, they should never be allowed to play the sport again, not even in the street. Asif is the most accomplished bowler in the world, but his skills have gone hand-in-hand with sheer stupidity that has made him a repeat offender. Amir too must be banned if found guilty. But it must not be a life sentence. A rehabilitated Amir would not only be the finest quick bowler we’ve seen in a generation – that is immaterial – he would also be a powerful voice against corruption in the game.
If we banish him now, the game loses a hugely promising talent and a young man loses his opportunity to redeem himself. Every human being, especially one who’s just 18, deserves that chance.
* THis article appeared in the Sunday Guardian on September 5.
** In Matthew Engel’s moving tribute to Colin Milburn, he writes: “Milburn might not have been the greatest cricketer of his generation, but he was, beyond question, the cricketer we could least afford to lose. And we lost him.” I keep thinking of those words when I see footage of Amir walking in and out of police stations.
A second chance is essential for the smooth functioning of any society. The case of cricket is no different.
Mohammed Amir is a special teenager who, as former Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson states, had to travel through Taliban-occupied highways just to come for cricket practice. It is all too easy for us to sit in our home comforts and judge the actions of men who have lived all their lives in conditions that we cannot imagine.
And Salman Butt seemed a nice, educated and well-aware-of-his-actions young man! He would have been the last person in Pakistan set-up whom I would have thought of as going astray.
Sadly though, Mohammed Asif does not have such sympathies. No regular offender can… especially when such an offender has precocious talent, but does not want to invest it in the best interests of his team!
I guess Asif should be shown the exit door. No one deserves a third chance for such offences as corruption and drugs. But Amir and Butt do deserve their second chance. They need to be punished with bans that will keep them away from cricket just for a long enough time to make them miss the game. And when they are back, they will be special.
excellent post Dileep.
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Dileep Premachandran and Ashes Cup, Sana Kazmi. Sana Kazmi said: RT @SpiceBoxofEarth: Lessons from the Amir episode. #cricket #fixing https://doosraredux.wordpress.com/2010/09/05/dont-leave-the-kids-alone/ […]
Very nice article Dileep.
-Ratnu
What a balanced and sensitive piece Deepu!! I will never tire of saying how much I love reading what you write…..Hugs, the grizzly kind
Wonderful piece! I have been following the tubes reporting with enthusiasm about an 18 year old in a spot of bother (After all, they have news!). The whole thing reminds me of a not so recent case in India about two teenagers caught in a video scandal and having to flee the country. I cannot even begin to imagine what Amir would be going through right now. I hope for the sport’s sake that he stays strong and comes through this.
I feel very sorry for this kid, this guy has got so much talent, he can swing the ball both ways and can threaten the batsmen very easily and he has done this against one of the top-class batsmen in the world but again it’s misery watching a boy with so much talent going to be wasted away.I think there is a role fo his teen-age and ignorance in this particular act or may be it’s something else.The most important reason is that he was not educated that’s why he fell prey to the fixers.Let’s hope he return soon.