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When Lt. Gen Tauqir Zia took over as the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board in 1999, he perhaps did not realize that whatever he would do, it would come under microscopic analysis and rapt scrutiny.

Two years and 10 months on, he chooses to quit, not because of any wrong he did but for the disgraceful second Test defeat the Pakistan suffered at the hands of Australia in Sharjah this month.

President Gen Pervez Musharraf, the PCB Patron, fortunately did not accept the resignation, as he felt Tauqir was the right man to handle the hot seat of Pakistan cricket and that it was inappropriate for him to go with the World Cup just a stone's throw away.

Tauqir has had to take a lot of criticism virtually throughout the time he has been in charge of the sport that attracts attention for every little move you make -good or bad. Ask the chairman and he would tell you that all his efforts are genuinely aimed at improving the country's cricket and making Pakistan team the top side again, as they were some months ago.

Before Tauqir decided to resign, he drew criticism no matter what he did. Whether it was the induction of new players, hiring or firing of a coach, or axing a few senior cricketers, there was bound to be criticism. But it has been criticism for the sake of it because critics tend to forget that this man who is at the helm today has done so much for our cricket that none of his predecessors could think of doing.

If starting the national and the regional academies is not a good step, then what is? If promoting cricket at the junior level, ignored previously, is not beneficial then what is?

Today we have an under-15 side that is in the process of being selected for this December's Junior Asia Cup in the UAE. There's an under-19 team that took part in the Junior World Cup in New Zealand this year and then we have Pakistan 'A' that beat their opposite number from Sri Lanka only recently. If this is not good for our cricket, then what is?

Thanks to Tauqir, cricket is flourishing at the grassroots level because that is where back up to the national team would eventually come from. Today we have players such as Yasir Arafat and Najaf Shah, who have the potential of serving the national team. Good for our cricket, isn't it?

Talk of infrastructure development and the PCB has chalked out a systematic plan with some of the main stadiums being upgraded and club grounds at various centres to be developed. Only a mad-hatter would say it is bad for our cricket.

PCB managers in the past never initiated any systematic infrastructure plan and if Tauqir has had the vision and the guts of doing so, he certainly deserves credit.

Tauqir does want to do more but his lieutenants, including Ramiz Raja are letting him down. A good part of the year, he is globetrotting commentating on one match after the other. How could he justify his job at the PCB, one fails to understand. Similarly, the selectors too have left a lot to be desired, their wrongs not reflecting well on the general.

While his aides could be doing a better job, for now we need to thank president Musharraf for having averted a major crisis on the eve of the World Cup that could have effectively ruined Pakistan's chances in the tournament. A good decision for our cricket, isn't it?

© Dawn