Kerry Packer and his Pakistan Connections
By Khalid Butt, Feature Writer of The Nation Lahore
Tribute have poured in
from the world over on the passing away of Kerry Packer, who in the 70s had
jolted world cricket and changed it beyond recognition. It was poetic justice
that the man detested and loathed by cricket establishments once should be
finally acknowledged as a visionary and benefactor for the game by all. Among
those who have paid a glowing tribute to his genius is the current ICC President
Ehsan Mani, saying “He took the game by the scruff of the neck and dragged it
into the modern era. White balls and black screens, coloured clothing and
cutting-edge television coverage are all aspects of the game that modern cricket
fans take for granted and all of them are down to one man. The players also owe
him a huge debt of gratitude because he recognised their worth and paid them
accordingly. He helped make cricket an attractive career option for youngsters
and that was one of his great achievements.”
To me, the name of Kerry Packer also brought back a torrent of memories as
someone who had watched it from the ringside. Some of my good and close friends
had joined the “Packer Circus”, and were instrumental in raising a full Pakistan
side which include all top players. Except for Wasim Bari and Sarfraz, all
others had signed up, which resulted in the complete routing of the depleted
Pakistan team which toured England in 1978. It had also the distinction of
having three managers, in the late Mahmood Hussain, Imtiaz Ahmad and Zafar
Altaf, something unique in cricket history, past and present. Pakistan cricket
management had reacted to the new development in a disgusting, unimaginative and
graceless manner that defied any logic.
It was therefore with some sense of relief that the cricket stars, who had
joined World Series Cricket, were included on the 1978-9 tour of New Zealand and
Australia. Packer had all along been most cooperative and willing to lend a
helping hand. The Pakistan Board, it was clear, was unnecessarily getting into
the fray for all the wrong reasons. It was not their war, as subsequent events
proved.
I would also like to highlight the strong Pakistan connection which Kerry Packer
had developed and which somehow has never been adequately portrayed.
I was the solitary cricket journalist touring with the Pakistan team on its
1978-9 tour Down Under, which under Mushtaq Muhammad had revived the sagging
fortunes of the national team. During the first Test at Melbourne, Packer had
duly shown up at the MCG to visit the Pakistan team. This gave me a rare chance
to meet Packer when he came out of the Pakistan dressing room, and interview him
for the newspaper for which I was covering the tour.
A towering Packer, with a booming voice and dressed in a navy blue suit, was
wearing a Pakistan green tie when he emerged from the Pak dressing room. When I
referred to the tie he said rather joyfully it had been given to him by Imran
and he had immediately put it on. When I asked whether I could have one of the
WSC ties, he fished it out of his pocket and presented it to me.
I proudly retain it as part of my large collection of sporting ties.
Packer was Imran’s ardent admirer and also spoke highly of Pakistani cricket
talent, which he had taken pains to promote and package by his powerful
marketing machine outstandingly.
It was no wonder that there was realisation back home of the ill-advised policy
of assuming Packer was an adversary, toeing the official line of the Aussie and
English cricket establishments, with which Packer had a conflict of interest on
the issue of TV coverage. A white flag was raised and the then CMLA, General
Zia, summoned Omar Kureishi, the noted cricket commentator, to send as an
emissary to bring back the “Packer boys” in Pakistan squad to raise it to full
strength. Omar flew to Singapore, where Packer and his top officials met him and
most willingly agreed to release all Pak players without any conditions and
extend all possible assistance to Pakistan cricket.
This was welcome news, which cheered up all cricket fans and the prospects of
Pakistan avenging its loss of rubber and dismal performance in England looked
bright. But something mysterious and most unbecoming happened the evening before
the tour opener. A former Pakistan Captain and BCCP Chief, who had been an
avowed opponent of Packer, convinced Zia to renege on his pledge. In this he
took the willing and partisan support of the England team and notably of Geoff
Boycott. The last-minute change of mind by the military ruler left all the
Pakistan Cricket stars like Mushtaq, Imran, Majid, Sarfraz and Asif out in the
cold and a gentleman like Omar Kureishi with egg on his face. He took a long
time to recover from this ugly episode, which also soured his life-long
friendship with his old pal, ‘Skipper’ Kardar. As for Packer and his associates,
they were simply bewildered at this most unexpected happening. The only outside
chance of a Kerry Packer visit to Pakistan and implement an ambitious plan for
the uplift of Pak cricket thus ended up in smoke. Even after so many years,
whenever I think about the whole episode, there is an uneasy feeling of national
guilt. I know for sure Kureishi (who died last year) never forgave Zia for this
monumental national letdown.
