So we are hearing that the Australians are now cleared to play the IPL. Am I missing something or has everyone forgotten about the ICC’s Future Tours Programme?

Not so long ago it was the ICC's Future Tours Programme that mean most to the cricket world and there was a time when ICC money meant a great deal to the major cricket boards. Now, it's only the rupee that matters it would seem.

The initial comment from Australia was that its star players like captain Ricky Ponting, fast bowler Brett Lee and batsman Matthew Hayden would sign agreements with the lucrative Indian Premier League but would not be able to play for at least two years because of ICC touring commitments. This year they were supposed to be in Pakistan and then West Indies. Next year they have a long tour of England. Don't get me wrong, who can blame Ricky and Co. for wanting to cash in? But is there not supposed to be a more moralistic bigger picture - the good of the game and all that?

Now, all of a sudden, there is some doubt about Australia’s ability to commit to the Pakistan tour and already players (and board members) are acting as though it’s off already and readying themselves for the IPL. You cannot blame the Indian board for innovating and exploiting the cash-rich market in India for cricket but we can question the affect it is having on the rest of the game, administrators and players.

Ok, we have all been aware of the political situation in Pakistan and the country is clearly not as stable as it has been in recent years but until the tour has been called off and the usual suspects have flown over there to check out security arrangements, frankly, I find it very disrespectful to the Pakistan Cricket Board, the country of Pakistan, the Pakistan players and the ICC, who are supposed to be running the game. Since when were the ICC’s headquarters in Mumbai?

Not just that but the PCB are taking it all on the chin like a subservient to its master. Equally as bad is the way they are banning their players who are signing up to the so-called ‘rebel’ Indian Cricket League. If the PCB is not careful they will have only rookies left to choose from for their Tests and ODIs very soon.

I wouldn’t mind but Pakistan is not even part of the bigger picture of the IPL, which will see teams from England, Australia, South Africa and India competing for a world domestic Twenty20 crown. Pakistan’s Twenty20 champions are nowhere to be seen yet we hear the PCB board members admonishing all that go near the ICL and defending the IPL to the hilt.

What benefits are the PCB getting out of the IPL? If there are any we should be told what they are exactly. Only then might we understand their current aggressive stance against players who have served their domesic game for years, like Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mushtaq Ahmed and Abdul Razzaq.

Instead, they are hitting out at the wrong people, like their most successful bowler of the last four years Danish Kaneria, who has been demoted in his contract banding and then warned about his conduct when, inevitably, he expressed unhappiness about the move. Come on!