'Someone calls another person a monkey but gets saved' - Shoaib Akhtar on the Harbhajan-Symonds incident
Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar has claimed that BCCI's financial might had helped Harbhajan Singh escape after he allegedly called Andrew Symonds a monkey. He added that the Australian cricket board bowed to the pressure tactics of the BCCI.
Shoaib Akhtar put forth his views on the current state of international cricket while talking to Geo Cricket.
On being asked about the window created for the staging of the IPL with the postponement of the T20 World Cup and the Asia Cup, Shoaib Akhtar mentioned that cricket had undergone a steady decline from the glory days of the past.
"Till the time you don't go with justice, cricket will keep going down. If you want someone to score 20000 odd runs, it is your wish. It doesn't affect me. If you don't make cricket better, it does not impact my era."
"The fans of our era are still our fans. The way we played cricket will always be remembered. Whether it be the West Indies' era or our era of the 90s and even after that, we have had big names. People remember that era."
Shoaib Akhtar warned that if the ICC does not take any drastic steps now, the international game would be reduced to a couple of World Cups and the T20 leagues around the globe.
"I can tell you one thing, if you don't go with justice for the next two years, there will be only two World Cups and ten leagues happening. If the ICC wants to go that route, then please do that so. It is your wish, we can only talk about cricket being destroyed but can't do anything."
The Rawalpindi Express, as he was called, highlighted that the rules of the game had been changed to benefit the batsmen.
"You have to give permission for body-line bowling, you have tied the hands of the fast bowlers. What type of cricket are you organising, two new balls with restriction on bouncers, what do you want that the bowlers should go there just to be hit."
Shoaib Akhtar lamented that there are hardly any fast bowlers left in the game while naming Pat Cummins and Jofra Archer, even questioning the former's fitness and the latter's recent drop in pace.
"There are just 3 bowlers left in the world - including Cummins who is sometimes unfit and another Jofra Archer who was bowling at 150 kph but now bowling at 132 kph."
Shoaib Akhtar asserted that the powerful authorities were never going to allow the Asia Cup to take place.
"I can guarantee you Asia Cup was not going to happen, you were just talking in the air, whoever had the powers were not going to let it happen."
Shoaib Akhtar on the dominance of the BCCI
Shoaib Akhtar was further asked how the hegemony being created by the BCCI could be stopped. The former pacer replied sarcastically that the hegemony was already there.
"What are you talking, has the hegemony not happened till now? What do you mean by we can't allow it to happen, who are we? The world has never supported the oppressed."
Shoaib Akhtar went on to claim that the Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup could have definitely happened but were sacrificed for the sake of the IPL.
"Asia Cup could have definitely happened, it would have been a great chance for India and Pakistan to play against each other. There are many reasons behind this, I don't want to get into that."
T20 World Cup could have also happened, but I had already said this earlier that they won't let it happen. IPL should not be damaged, let the World Cup go to hell.
Shoaib Akhtar moaned the waning interest of the people in the game of cricket throughout the world compared to the time when he used to cross swords with greats like Sachin Tendulkar.
"I give a suggestion that India should save cricket today. They don't save it, it's fine, it doesn't impact my era. My matches with Sachin Tendulkar are still remembered today."
"You will not get to watch quality cricket. When I was with Star Sports the viewership was 80 million and when I left it was down to 45 million in India alone. What is the following for cricket in Pakistan other than the Champions Trophy that we won."
Shoaib Akhtar iterated that the authorities were only interested in the World Cups and the lucrative leagues.
"They also want that the money that is going to international cricket should also be stopped. They just want 2 big leagues and 2 World Cups."
Shoaib Akhtar hinted at the BCCI using their dominance to get results in their favour, including Harbhajan Singh escaping a ban after supposedly using a racist slur against Andrew Symonds.
"Sometimes they get easy wickets in Melbourne, at times someone calls another person a monkey but gets saved, the talk goes to boycotting the series. I am asking the Australians, where are their ethics?"
"You made kids cry for scratching a cricket ball and they got away by calling someone a monkey. They [BCCI] said to end the series and they [Australian Board] said no such incident happened."
Shoaib Akhtar signed off by stating that all the international boards were only interested in benefiting financially from the BCCI.
"Are these your moral grounds, did you not get the sound on the mike. Stop all these dramas, tell straight that you need money which you get from BCCI and you can keep taking that quietly."
The T20 World Cup scheduled for October-November 2020 has been postponed, thereby allowing a window for the IPL to be staged during the same time frame.