I have never felt as excited as I was to see Mohammed Amir in the squad for the New Zealand tour. I did not blink for an instance in his four-over spell and I cannot explain the moment when Afridi dropped Kane Williamson on his bowling. Eventually, we won the first T20 and the media, including social media, was full of praises of the boys in green.

The ‘Lala supporters’, almost as if they had been bracing for the moment for a long time, started shaming the ‘Lala haters’ a group that has been growing significantly in the recent past years.

I was happy. We were all happy. Beating New Zealand in their small rugby grounds is never easy.

Then there was a steep leap in the rollercoaster. The first T20 was just the bait, or a small token of hospitality, by the Black Caps. A record-breaking partnership between Guptill and Williamson in the second T20 and a typical collapse of our perpetually vulnerable batting line up in third, combined for a well deserved series win for the hosts.

Then, in the first ODI, New Zealand were 99 for 6 at one stage and ended up winning the game by 70 runs. Again, the media, including social media, was all over the place.

I cannot quote many of the social media posts. They were too offensive and abusive. ‘Lala haters’ enjoyed the upper hand though.

Let's have a detailed analysis of the complete series. But, wait, I guess that would be boring. Dr. Nauman and Sikandar Bakht have already done that in ‘detail’. 

So, let's do something different. Let’s analyze ourselves for a change.

One myth I want to bust before I come to us is that our team is not ‘unpredictable’. Because, technically, they are so consistent at being ‘unpredictable’, that they have become obviously predictable. Even when they are performing strongly, I have heard people say, "Don't be too optimistic. You know what they are going to do in next match, right?" Our boys always respond to that.

So, the problem is not with them, it's with us. We have all been injected by a ‘bug’ (in local parlance a ‘keera’).

A "bug" is different from passion, hobby, goal or anything close to a positive phenomenon. It’s irritating, annoying and beyond your control. But it's not exactly like a virus because it keeps you guessing and gives you hope. All of us fans who are frequently encountering disappointment, but still stick to their televisions, internet, radio or any other source whenever a new series starts might be suffering from the "cricket bug".

This "bug" had been injected inside us by our colonial masters. What a masterstroke! Sometimes, at the peak of my disappointment, I often think that gift of cricket by our masters is a part of their grand scheme of ‘divide and rule’.

My belief gets vindicated when I read the comments of Pakistanis and Indians under a cricket post. They always cross the line of "healthy competition" by some distance.

I too, as you would have guessed by now, am seriously infected by this "bug". I can remember thousands of instances where I vigorously promised myself "enough is enough, no more cricket”. But here I am, writing, thinking and soaking myself in cricket.

I honestly envy those who can repudiate this bug (what a time saver). I also want to seriously ask my father whether he was responsible with his parenting! Why did he let me fall into this trap? Because most people actually inherit this "bug".

There is a group of delusional bug-infected people, mostly involved in illegal betting, who keep spreading the rumor that every ball of every match is fixed. Ten years back when such rumors were not at the surface, I could have fought those fixers; but with all the corporations and money involved in cricket, in darker days, these pessimistic predictions echo in my ear. Obviously I do not believe them, but I still don't want to be heartbroken just like I was when I found out that WWF was all scripted.

But that's the thing with a "bug" isn’t it? With all these possibilities and miseries, match fixing, arrogant behavior of our cricketers, selfies of Ahmed Shahzad, "authentic" analysis of  Dr Nauman, stupidly accurate memory of Mirza Iqbal Baig, no home cricket, continuous humiliation by the hands of BCCI, and much more, we still will keep supporting our boys. And not because "tum jeeto ya haaro, hamein tum se pyar hai” but because hum sub beemar hain.

With the hope that one day the team would become consistent and our cricket board will groom proper cricketers, we will keep watching the game. So, let's gear up for the other two ODIs against the Black Caps with the hope that we will make a come back; because this rollercoaster ride is not going to stay in a steep leap forever. Who knows, maybe we will return home with a cup from India in March.

This delusional prayer is not the sane me talking. It's the "bug" inside me.