Karachi:
“There has been a bomb blast in your country, we can’t play now, we have to go back, the board is talking” when a Sri Lankan cricketer said this to a Pakistani player, he got upset but didn’t let such effects show on his face, then answered him.
“Man, there is nothing to fear, nothing will happen, if there was any danger, I would have run away first” was his attempt to remove the concerns in a light manner, later other Pakistani cricketers also tried to remove their fear by talking to the Sri Lankans.
This incident was narrated to me by a Pakistani player, when the news came out that many Sri Lankan cricketers had decided to go back due to security concerns, every Pakistani felt a wave of concern, everyone was wondering what would happen next.
If Sri Lanka left, our cricket would have been isolated again like in the past, other teams would have been reluctant to come, it would have been difficult to host IC events, and it would have been difficult to hire foreign cricketers for PSL.
Obviously, these concerns will be in the minds of not only the PCB officials but also other top personalities, there was a time when 90% of the tour was likely to be over, there were even talks of the Sri Lankan team going back and playing again after a few days.
However, Mohsin Naqvi’s 90-minute meeting with the visiting players played an important role in persuading them to stop, during which the Pakistani cricketers also kept explaining to them.
India would have lured a series and he would have turned around, but when he got instructions from his country’s top brass, he threatened the players with thinly veiled action if they didn’t continue the tour, nothing could stop him when one had concerns about his security.
In fact, it was the efforts of the top Pakistani authorities PCB and players that brought color and cleared the reservations, so the series continued, only a slight change in the schedule had to be done, now the three ODI matches have been held in a good manner.
Pakistan cricket will always be not out, it’s a win for everyone, even if you are not a cricket fan, I suggest you watch the highlights of any match of the series, kids, youth, seniors, men and women will all be seen enjoying the game at the Rawalpindi Stadium.
This is the specialty of cricket, the game unites the entire nation, if people were scared, the stadium would have looked empty, but the large number of fans turned up throughout the series, it was clear that Pakistanis cannot be intimidated by such antics.
Undoubtedly, Sri Lanka also paid the right of friendship again, in the past when they had a bad time, then the Pakistani team never refused to visit, now they are also responding to it, along with this, Zimbabwe should not be forgotten, its players always came here.
Even when the news about the possible return of the Sri Lankans was going on, Sikandar Raza, who was sitting on the plane, released his picture on social media saying that he was going to Pakistan.
Some circles are also bringing up the IPL angle but we should see the positive side of the Sri Lankan cricketers that they agreed, Pakistan cricket has suffered a serious crisis for the second time in a few months.
Earlier, when Pakistan decided to boycott the Asia Cup over the “handshake controversy”, it seemed that serious consequences could come out and the country’s cricket would be stagnant.
However, thankfully this did not happen both times, the common chairman PCB was Mohsin Naqvi, he handled the matters in a good manner, which improved the reputation of Pakistan cricket at the international level.
India also realized that Pakistanis can go to some extent for their honor and dignity, before that, the hybrid model was also a great success, the performance outside the field was better, but the team was not performing well in the game, but now the times seem to be changing.
The victory in the triangular series and then reaching the final of the Asia Cup is not an old thing, although three defeats against India dominated it, but after South Africa, now the Pakistan team has returned to the right track by defeating Sri Lanka in the series.
In ODI, Shaheen Shah Afridi won his first two series and took the iron of the leadership, the most special thing of the recent series was Babar Azam’s first century after 2 years, during which he got a chance to bat 83 times but could not reach the thirteen digits.
People were also talking that if the Zimbabwean team is coming, then Babar will also score a century, but he broke this stalemate against Sri Lanka. This is great news for Pakistan cricket, more than half of Babar’s fans come to watch the match.
During the recent matches, we also saw that when Babar got out, many people left the stadium, in the past it used to happen only when Shahid Afridi lost his wicket, the domestic grounds are full, Babar’s form has also returned, what more do cricket fans want.
(Note: You can follow me on Twitter @saleemkhaliq)
