Talent, Age Cannot Save Aamir or Perpetrators of Match Fixing

By Sreelata S. Yellamrazu

       This is a disconcerting discussion because those in cricket circles are divided on this. What seems to be the hurdle in affecting those that have adversely affected the game seems to be the naivety factor attached to age.
       Ever since the spot fixing scandal broke during the Lord’s Test of the England Pakistan Test series, the players suspended by the ICC have raised concerns amongst the cricket fraternity but also, polarized them in terms of opinion. While the case against the players is yet to be handed an appropriate conclusion, several people seem to have made up their minds.

      From these stem some of the thoughts such as ‘Mohammad Asif is a serial offender’, ‘Salman Butt was always in need of supervision’, and so on. But perhaps the most disconcerting of the remarks have been the ones that have come Mohammad Aamir’s ways. The young fast bowler has been a sensation on the cricket sense, capturing the minds of cricket aficionados and briefly allowing people to forget that he comes from a nation of fractured interests.

       However, this kind of sensation he could have dearly done without. When Aamir’s name was mentioned amongst the trio, the reaction was like many others. The question kept nagging, “Why, Aamir, why?” And then exploded a million reasons. They ranged from the lure of money for a young man of underprivileged background to pressure from his senior peers to the culture prevailing in a team dominated by cricketers with dodgy reputations.

       While that may well be true for all the above reasons, what is inexplicable is the suggestion that Mohammad Aamer’s age should be kept in mind when it comes to punitive measured, should he be found guilty as Mazhar Majeed, the player agent/bookie suggested to the News of the World undercover reporter.

     There is no doubt that lessons have to be learnt, consideration must be given and there is perhaps nothing nobler than the rehabilitation of wayward souls. But to allow Aamer a concession short of a life ban is setting up for a repeat of a scenario that has greatly damaged the game, the generosity of one cricket board towards another, and the basic trust and camaraderie between cricketers. It has affected how viewers follow the game and it has affected the sentiments of those that carry the game in their heart.

        There is little to suggest that Aamer will not do it again, if he has once, as there is little to suggest he will ever, even if he never has. The benefit of doubt rule does not quite apply here. But if the worst scenario were to come true, and Aamer is guilty, the worst that those in authority to ensure the integrity of the game is to condone the deeds of a cricketer only because he is exceptionally talented or because he is too young.

        Whether a person has committed a murder under duress from another or by his own devious premeditation, murder is still murder. There is scope, however, for rehabilitation but that only comes through the course of punishment. And if Aamer’s ban should not be one of life, it should certainly be enough to change the course of his life. Anything less, or a decidedly different yardstick wherein the player who rants against his own is given a leeway, would once again leave the door open for cricket to come face to face yet again with the tragedy that is fixing not far from now.

       If talent is permanent, Aamer will bounce back. If age is a factor, the repercussions of the incident will see Aamer mature before his time. And if he is innocent, he will have nothing to fear. And if he is guilty, he will be the shining example of what happens when a player chooses to not stand by the truth, even if it means standing up for his own integrity and at the cost of one’s own. If he has certainly realized that to now change his stance to his being coerced to fix by Butt and Asif, he is certainly smart enough to realize the folly of his ways. But whether he has learnt from it to never do it again or to make sure he never gets caught is one that will take a genius to figure.

        The onus is on the ICC to play their cards right, implore the players to come clean in the hope of continuing to play the game, on the terms that cricket stands to gain, to use the incident as a major stepping stone towards preventing an incidence of this magnitude, not one that it will look back on and think, where did we go wrong again?

©Sreelata S. Yellamrazu for ©www.mindspacecricket.com