Too many hats

Jerry Maguire performed in living-rooms. His sports-management firm would send him into the homes of American football stars, where he'd clinch the deal, sweet-talking his prey into submission. You couldn't imagine Aamer Sohail pulling that off -- far better to send him into a bear-pit, wrestle some bruiser to the ground and trample all over him. That is exactly what Sohail did after the World Cup, in his capacity as chairman of selectors.

First he mauled Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Saeed Anwar and Shahid Afridi. Then he cracked a few ribs in the bodies of Inzamam-ul-Haq, Abdul Razzaq and Saqlain Mushtaq before embracing them -- once they knew not to mess with him. The mauling was understandable and essential if Pakistan cricket was to rebuild, and it needed someone of Sohail's bloody-mindedness to carry it off. It came easily to Sohail, who was settling scores for the way his own career was mangled. The cracked ribs, though, confirmed doubts about his judgment, but initially Sohail, like any other batsman, had to be given the benefit of any doubt. Six months on, bewilderment and a touch of anger replace doubt, and you have to wonder if the Pakistan Cricket Board made a grave mistake in his appointment.

This is compounded by Sohail's career as a commentator, which raises serious issues about the ethics of a chairman of selectors passing judgement on his own policies. I don't have a problem with conflicts of interest -- we all have them - provided they are transparent. On that basis there is no hindrance to Allan Border, Athar Ali Khan, Rameez Raja or Sohail being employed by cricket boards and working for television companies. But there is a problem if these people are unable to remain objective in their commentary.

With Sohail there is the perpetual sense that he is either prosecuting a vendetta or singing his own praises. If a player performs woefully, as Mohammad Hafeez did in the one-dayers against South Africa, for example, Sohail places the blame at the door of the coaching staff (a thinly veiled dig at Javed Miandad) or harps on about the brilliance of Hafeez as a utility cricketer, singing hosannas each time he does something half-decent. It cannot, never ever, be a failure of selection. It cannot, never ever, be Sohail's error. It cannot be that Pakistan's current crop has a way to go? Sohail might think it, but he never says it.

What does this say about the value of television commentary? After all, that is what commentators are supposed to do: add value to what we see. What value do you add if all you do is justify your own decision-making? What value do you add when you use the commentary box as a platform to settle scores? None at all. Sohail is not a commentator -- he is a propagandist, a public-relations man for only himself. But it is possible to manage these competing interests better. Border has retained his integrity and honesty. Rameez just about carries it off by offering insights into Pakistan's strategy without revealing his personal likes and dislikes. It's too early to tell with Athar. Sohail, meanwhile, has become an international embarrassment.

An equally pressing concern for Pakistan is whether or not Sohail carries this lack of integrity into his selection policies. Dumping the greats of Pakistan cricket was an easy decision to make but a tough one to implement. Identifying players to build the future is immensely complicated and uncertain. Sohail was ideal for the first half of this mission, but does not have the wisdom for the second. Handing international caps to novices -- like Junaid Zia, the board chairman's son -- has made Sohail's selection committee a laughing stock. His television pronouncements have lost him respect. Viewers may be unable to select the team or comment on how damn good the selection is, but they are not stupid enough to be fooled by Sohail's clumsy rhetoric.

Unless he wants to become the most unpopular Pakistani on Earth, Sohail should give up one or both of his jobs. If not, his employers have a duty to Sohail and the public to free up his time.

Ideally, commentators should not be employees of cricket boards, unless they happen to be uniquely insightful, honest, and add value. On all those counts Aamer Sohail should clear out of our living-rooms -- I don't want mine turning into a bear-pit.