KARACHI: Ten months after being hailed as a possible saviour for Pakistan cricket, Ijaz Butt comes across as a man who is only guiding the sport into a deeper crisis.

It was on October 6 last year that Butt was made Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman, replacing Nasim Ashraf, who had resigned from the post.

At that time, his appointment was generally welcomed by critics, with some expecting that being a former Test cricketer Butt will succeed where Ashraf failed during his two-year stint.

Skeptics, however, feared that the then 70-year-old might not be able to do justice with what is easily the most important and sought after job in Pakistan sports.

Less than a year later, they have been proved right.

Butt, now 71, has proved to be quite a disaster which can be gauged by the fact that many of his team members have already jumped ship.

Insiders in the PCB will tell you that the temperamental Butt can be very unreasonable even while dealing with day-to-day affairs. They will also tell you that he shows little reluctance in using, and at times abusing, the almost absolute powers that is the biggest perk enjoyed by the chairman of the Board.

He has already fallen out with three of his own handpicked men - former legend Javed Miandad, Abdul Qadir and Aamer Sohail - all former Test players with far more impressive cricketing credentials than that of Butt, who played eight Tests from 1959-62.

Butt has precious little to show as far his achievements are concerned.

He may argue that Pakistan won the ICC World Twenty20 title in England during his tenure but Butt cannot take much credit for it. Pakistan did stun the cricket world by clinching the crown in England but their pathetic campaign in Sri Lanka is a big indicator that the Twenty20 triumph was a bit of a fluke. It is quite evident that what Younis Khan is leading in Sri Lanka is a bunch of under-achieving cricketers, who are only capable of beating the top teams in the shortest format of the game.

The ongoing tour of Sri Lanka is clear proof that we lag far behind top teams like South Africa, Australia, India and Sri Lanka and there are little signs that our team is achieving any worthwhile improvement as far as Test and one-day cricket is concerned.

The national team’s poor showing against Kumar Sangakkara’s men has also ignited a whispering campaign in the country’s cricketing circles which suggests that Butt’s time is finally up.

According to the rumours, President Asif Zardari - PCB’s chief patron - has lost faith in Butt’s abilities and may soon ask him to step down as chairman. Zardari handpicked Butt for the job because of his cricketing background and administrative experience thought it’s an open secret that Butt’s cause was greatly helped because of the fact that one of his close relatives is a key figure in Zardari’s government.

Rumours that the PCB chairman is about to be sacked have always circulated whenever our cricket suffered a blow but for the sake of the game one hopes they are true this time.

Pakistan cricket’s woes are not skin deep and it will take a series of concrete steps over a sustained period to wash them away. By just changing the man at the helm of affairs won’t be enough. But it would be a good start, provided this time the right man is given the task.

What Pakistan cricket needs is an experienced and competent professional, who has the vision to take the sport out of the current mess. He should be ready to give up the enormous powers enjoyed by a PCB chief and should instead selflessly devote his energies in forming an efficient team that can run the Board in a professional manner. Once a proper system is established, things will start falling in place. Under Butt, that is clearly not happening.