Just days after being axed as the Board's COO, the 62-year-old former Test wicketkeeper managed to make a surprising comeback in the PCB as its Director Education and Training. His new job is to help enforce the Board's new code of conduct and anti-corruption measures to cleanse domestic cricket.

It was after getting an ultimatum from the International Cricket Council (ICC) last October that the PCB decided to seriously implement its code of conduct.

Stung by a spot-fixing scandal involving three leading Pakistani cricketers that has threatened cricket's integrity, ICC gave Pakistan an eight-point plan to clean up its act or face sanctions including a possible suspension from international cricket.

Pakistan was asked to implement "a competency-based education program for all registered players," "a proper, accountable and robust disciplinary process for the sport" and a "deterrent and detection process to protect the game from corrupt elements, whether it be players, officials, agents or any other individual." Another ICC demand was to introduce a "domestic anti-corruption code, which mirrors the ICC Anti-Corruption Code."

Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, has handpicked Bari to head the Board's campaign to carry out ICC's directives.

Bari, who played 81 Tests from 1967-84, believes he is the right man for the job.

"It's a vital task and I'm confident that we will achieve it," Bari told Arab News. "It is something we have to do at all costs because prevention is better than cure," he added.

Bari is now planning to organize seminars and workshops on anti-corruption code for players and officials. But before that he will be visiting various cities of the country to help educate first-class cricketers. Early next week, he will be visiting Rawalpindi to give out lectures to players of the KRL team and will later go to Faisalabad to spend a day with PIA cricketers.

"It will be an ongoing process," said Bari when asked about the time-frame for his task. "It's all about educating the players and help create an awareness among them about the do's and don'ts of international cricket." Bari and his team will be handing out anti-corruption literature in English and Urdu to all first-class players within the next few days.

He is also preparing a comprehensive booklet in Urdu that is aimed at 'educating' them.

"Personally I believe that the education of our cricketers is of utmost importance because that's a key area," he said.

After working with first-class cricketers, Bari will take his program to the various age groups starting from under-15 players.

"We have to catch them young because that's when they will learn the most," he said.

While Bari is upbeat about the project, skeptics fear that he might not be good enough to carry out the job.

Even if he is, it's quite a demanding task.

Pakistan's cricket is in a deep mess because nothing is really going right for it.

Starting from the top where Ijaz Butt has proved himself to be a poor leader and down to the players, who are mostly involved in infighting, there isn't much to cheer about.

All of it is interconnected. I mean if somebody heads the PCB, which is supposed to run Pakistan cricket in a professional manner, like Butt then one cannot really expect much from the players.

Butt isn't the only villain. There have been others in the past.

Cricket chiefs in Pakistan, at least in the recent past, have either been weak or incompetent. That is precisely the reason why controversial characters like Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif were never really taught a lesson.

A lot will depend on whether the PCB sets itself to really take comprehensive measures to save the game in Pakistan. There are genuine fears that the Board could take half-hearted steps aimed at cleansing the game at the domestic level just to please the ICC. Such an approach could be fatal for Pakistan cricket because now is the time for a major surgery. Anything less would be a futile exercise.