Cricket always lit a candle of hope, brotherhood and love amongst all the Pakistani citizens. It is a disease most of the teenagers and older generation is inflicted with. We take the game of gentlemen way too seriously and we are possessive about each and everything that is associated to Team Pakistan and Cricket Pakistan.
In the recent past, I as a cricket freak saw my cricket board begging for a series to be played by team India with team Pakistan. Without a doubt whenever these two nations face off against each other in any competition, billions of people are glued to their television screens and flock of hundreds who could afford, ideally like to witness the “history in a making game” in front of their eye. And when it comes to facing off in the field of cricket the intensity of people on both sides of the border touches the sky, everyone starts planning their schedule even earlier than a week before the game. Media coverage, the social networking sites run over with talks about the game termed as “Mother of all competitions.”
With Pakistan set to launch its inaugural multi-purpose cricket league, Pakistan Super League (PSL), the funds needed by the Pakistan Cricket Board is a task in hand. They are willing to pay whatever it takes to make this league a success like all the other leagues running globally. Out of many advantages one of the shear advantage of an Indo-Pak cricket series is the huge amount of money each board gather through the media campaign, tickets selling, brands affiliation to the series etc. Keeping the stated view in minds we needs to play a cricket series with India.
But the other side of the story which is not hidden from anyone eyes is the rude and uncanning behavior of Indians with the Muslims especially Pakistanis. Indians do not like any Pakistani to enter their state, whether that Pakistani be any actor, politician, book writer or a sportsman, they try desperately to make their living period in India a living hell. They reinforce their government with protests and at times using unethical ways to keep Pakistani people out of bound of the Indian Territory. No one in the world is unaware of the grudges Indian hold for Pakistan since the august 1947 when Pakistan parted way in the sub-continent to emerge as a distinctive state for Muslims. The mutual consent that was signed by both the parties; India and Pakistan had the clause that they will face off against each other on a cricket field 6 times in a span of next ten years with each country hosting the other equal number of time. Pakistan has already visited India for a series back in January 2012 and now it was the time India payback with the visit but since then they are making claims of Pakistan not being a safe place for cricket, though Zimbabwe has already came to Pakistan to play a series in a peaceful environment. Pakistan is trying desperately to convince its neighbor to play a series with them but Indians are in no mood whatsoever and they are playing a runaway game by just saying that India and Pakistan series could only held if the Indian government allows it to happen.
So as a respectful Pakistani I’d like to state that we are not a nation deprived of anything and Government of Pakistan should take the matter seriously and immediately stop the officials of PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) to beg India for a series also should advise them to refrain from playing against India in any tournament as a mark of protest. This will eventually make Indians think that we are not beggars by any mean and we do have a self-respect.
USMAN JAVAID,
Islamabad, December 9.