'The Pakistan cap has become worthless'

The year is 2000. Pakistan have been a shambles since the last World Cup. A short tour of Sri Lanka offers little cheer. Moin Khan's captaincy has run into the buffers. Some people accuse him of being too negative. Insiders suggest that he argues too strongly for the players he wants. In many organisations this would be a virtue in a leader: the Pakistan Cricket Board sees it as impertinence.

We have another captaincy crisis, and the alternatives are few. Lt-General Tauqir Zia, then the PCB chairman, says that the board will choose the next captain -- not based on seniority alone -- and if people find the choice unacceptable they will not be selected. Later - in front of some senior players -- he tells Azhar Mahmood that he will be the next Pakistan captain. Together they will plan future strategy.

The only snag is that this is the first that Azhar has heard of it. In a hierarchical society like Pakistan's, seniority is expected to hold sway even at the expense of success. In any case, Azhar thinks this out-of-the-blue announcement will create divisions and is reluctant to take on the leadership for a single series, rightly believing that a new captain needs to be guaranteed a longer run.

Later, Azhar is called to Mangla to meet Zia at his barracks for further discussions. The next day Waqar Younis makes the same journey to meet the same man. When the team is announced for a short tour of Singapore, Waqar is appointed captain, and Azhar is named his deputy. Zia's earlier proclamation counts for nothing.

Moin returns to captain Pakistan to a first-ever home defeat to England, and then a fruitless tour of New Zealand. Waqar -- who can barely command a place in the team, his career nearing an end -- takes on the fulltime captaincy for the 2001 tour of England. He leads Pakistan to initial success but ultimate disaster. How might Pakistan have fared if Azhar, and not Waqar, had replaced Moin?

This is an incident that Azhar is reluctant to talk about. He is a genial man and he strikes me as someone who wants straight answers to straight questions. "What I don't understand is why I am in and out of the Pakistan team? Whether I perform or not does not seem to make a difference.

"I am labelled a one-day player when I have performed well at Test level and last year in county cricket with Surrey. I am supposed to be a No. 6 but I end up at No. 9. What can you do batting at No. 9? I always play for my team. At No. 9 playing for your team means that you have to hit out -- and it doesn't always go your way. I don't play selfishly.

"When the mood takes the team management I am pushed up the order, usually in difficult circumstances. I don't mind that, but I need to be given a consistent run and I want to have the chance to develop in that position."

Azhar is justifiably bemused by the selection process in Pakistan cricket. A different series, a different team. Caps sprinkled around like confetti. Some players always selected regardless of performance, others in and out regardless of performance. But this is not a bitter man talking, rather a determined one. Full of conviction to win back his Pakistan place, desperate to show what he is capable of.

And he is capable of quite a bit. A phenomenal start to his Test career with three centuries against South Africa when their bowling was at its strongest -- his 132 against South Africa at Durban ranks high in any list of the best Test innings -- and a knack of taking vital wickets suggests a potential that Pakistan have failed to harness. He is not alone. For over a decade Pakistan cricket has been perfecting the art of squandering genuine talent, pandering to the hierarchy, and disappointing its most valuable assets: the players and fans.

We look around The Oval, and Azhar points toward a group of Surrey officials. "That's the difference," he says. "These guys are here to support the players. In Pakistan cricket, too many officials for too long have behaved as if the players have been created to serve them."

Azhar's last 24 months illustrate the frustrations of being a Pakistan cricketer -- and if the players are baffled, what hope for success on the field? At the end of a one-day tournament in Kenya in 2002, Azhar looks forward to the ICC Trophy in Sri Lanka. He believes he has had a good series in Kenya. At breakfast on the day of the flight to Colombo he meets Saeed Anwar, who reveals that Azhar has been dropped.

Azhar is bemused, because Saeed is not part of the tour management - he thinks he must be pulling his leg. Nonetheless he decides to double-check with Yawar Saeed, the team manager. Yawar confirms the bad news but can't offer an explanation: "I don't know. We have an order from the General that you are to go back."

At Dubai, where the team continues on to Sri Lanka and Azhar returns to Pakistan, he has his first words with Waqar. "Bad luck," is all the Pakistan captain can manage. Back in Pakistan Azhar understandably seeks an explanation from Tauqir Zia. In reply, Zia curses and says that it was not him but the team management who had decided to send Azhar home. More double talk and double standards occur on the trip to Bangladesh, and before the series against West Indies. Pakistan cricket has turned a happy-go-lucky player into one living on his international nerves.

Next, Azhar is called to the World Cup despite an injury that Surrey suggest requires longer recuperation. He risks aggravating his injury in training, but he doesn't get a look-in as Pakistan flop. Azhar is left out of the squad for the subsequent Sharjah tournament. He is told by a selector that the reason is that his wedding plans will interfere with his preparation for the tournament, missing the point that Azhar has arranged the timing of his wedding precisely so that he can be available. He is back in the team for the NatWest Challenge in England, where he makes useful contributions but is then dropped again.

Months later, South Africa tour Pakistan and the one-day series is poised at 2-2 going into the decider at Azhar's native Rawalpindi. The selectors call him back into the team on the eve of the match. He is told he will play in the decider. In the morning he finds out that he is not selected. Aamir Sohail, the chairman of selectors at the time, notes his disappointment and calls him over: "Azhar, let me do something for you."

"I don't want you to do anything for me," replies Azhar. "Tell me why players are treated like this?" He is still waiting for an answer.

Pakistan remains his top priority, but Azhar can't see an opening so he makes plans to play in South Africa. He loses a couple of weeks when the PCB packs him off to play the Hong Kong Sixes. On his return he intends to fly to South Africa via Karachi. Hours before catching his connection in Karachi he decides to find out about the touring squad for New Zealand. He'll stay if he's needed. A call to Sohail leaves him none the wiser. Inzamam-ul-Haq, on the other hand, advises him that he will be required. Azhar scraps his plans to fly to South Africa, and decides to hold out for a place in the touring squad.

He is indeed selected for New Zealand, and performs well enough, given limited opportunity. For the upcoming India series players are told that selection will hinge on performance in domestic cricket. Azhar chooses to forego South Africa altogether and fight for his place in the Pakistan squad. Incredibly, the squad for the India series is announced on the first day of the domestic competition. Azhar's name isn't in it. Players are told that domestic performances can still earn them a place in the final line-up. Azhar does well in domestic cricket but still doesn't win selection. He is left wondering exactly what he has to do to be selected. He wonders what the point was of sacrificing a season of cricket in South Africa?

Azhar's story highlights the tragedy of Pakistan cricket, and there is no reason to believe that his case is unique. By contrast there is every reason to believe that his is a perfect example of how players have been mistreated for many years. By now, we should know whether or not Azhar Mahmood is a truly world class allrounder, whether or not he has leadership qualities. But the systematic mismanagement of Pakistan cricket has left these questions genuinely unanswered. And an identical conclusion applies to almost all of the great talents Pakistan cricket has unearthed in the last decade.

"Nobody gives you any explanation. For a year or two I played consistently, but after that I've been in and out of the team, uncertain of my place. That isn't the way to develop an international career," says Azhar. "I don't understand why we fail to be judged on performance. It's all to do with liking and disliking. Sometimes players who are candidates for the captaincy are kept out of the squad by people who don't want them to succeed.

"How many players have been ruined by the PCB in this decade? There is no stability in Pakistan cricket and the players change every series. The only world-class batsman that we have produced since the 1992 World Cup is Yousuf Youhana. In 12 years we have only produced one-world class batsman. That says it all.

"The Pakistan cap has become worthless, and we need to restore some pride. The problem at the moment is that too many players are placed under too much pressure to perform -- as soon as they fail they are out. At the same time, there are too many players who are under too little pressure -- however they perform they stay in the team. The balance is all wrong."

This season Surrey have started badly, although Azhar is confident that a good win will put them back on track. He also remains confident that he can perform well enough to win back his place in the Pakistan team. And Azhar is a man of some character: jovial but tough. "Perhaps I'm fortunate," he says. "Perhaps Allah has saved my reputation by helping me avoid some embarrassing defeats. At least I can hold my head up high. I've always given everything for the team and nobody would dare approach me to fix a match -- people know I have a strong character. I just need a proper opportunity to serve my country."

Bowing to hierarchy is a failed policy in Pakistan cricket. As is the regular excuse of no better option -- an excuse wheeled out to justify and undermine the appointments of recent captains and coach. Pakistan cricket needs some new thinking, some radical solutions. Looking to the younger generation is one approach, but a player of Azhar's ability and character may be another option to bridge the gap between generations.

Azhar is intensely loyal to Inzamam, Youhana and Shoaib Akhtar - but are they really the best captaincy choices for Pakistan? Should Azhar be someone that the Pakistan selectors give more serious consideration? This season with Surrey provides Azhar Mahmood with an opportunity to make his case.