A file photograph of Aamer Sohail
After watching Cricket Australia handing Steve Smith and David Warner a 12-month ban each for masterminding the recent ball-tampering scandal, former Pakistani cricketer Aamer Sohail has asked Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to learn from Australia's handling of the ball-tampering scandal and change its lenient attitude towards controversies surrounding the game.
"We have a very lenient attitude to such problems and have shown no resolve in handling these problems head-on. If we had put our foot down on numerous occasions in the past, then the embarrassing and damaging scandals that hurt us so much would not have re-occurred and I suppose this is a big lesson for us to learn from the current ball-tampering issue," Sohail said.
The massive ball-tampering issue that rocked Australia saw skipper Steve Smith being banned for 12 months from international cricket by Cricket Australia along with David Warner.
Sohail believed that CA's decision of handing a year ban to the erring cricketers was a reflection of the embarrassment felt by the Australian nation.
The former PCB chief selector said, "The punishments are given, and the public humiliation suffered by Steven Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft in my view is more a reflection of the disgust and disappointment that the Australian nation felt rather than how Cricket Australia handled the situation."
"The Australians felt embarrassed about the fact that the actions of a few had brought shame to the nation and they acted to put that right by imposing such sanctions."
"Contrast that attitude with what has happened when such issues have been uncovered in Pakistan. It's sad to note but the fact is that we are used to such issues and our reactions are proof of that."
The 51-year-old further stressed that current ball-tampering scandal should be a lesson that how the game should be improved.
"There is no doubt that the current ball-tampering scandal has lead to some concerns about the future of the game, but the real question is whether the emphasis on this matter is overblown as I feel that we should be concentrating on improvements to the game, and not on the negative aspects of the game."
(With ANI inputs)
