For Pakistan in India, some dua and lots of mohabbat
Pakistan are in uncharted territory, and that’s saying something considering they have toured India 14 times since Independence, this being their fifth World Cup.
Pakistan’s captain Babar Azam and Rizwan attend a practice session.(PTI)
2011 gave us abiding memories of cricket’s most personal and political rivalry finding a spontaneous and festive confluence at Mohali. In 2016, Shahid Afridi unwittingly stated in front of a jam-packed Eden Gardens press conference room that Pakistan gets more love in India than back home, prompting en masse filing of petitions at Lahore High Court and Javed Miandad baying for his blood from Karachi. It melted India’s heart though.
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That bonhomie and drama has been systematically pruned, at least at the organisational level. Barely any fans from home and no traveling press—four journalists have reportedly been granted visas for Saturday’s game—this has been a strange World Cup for Pakistan. The scheduling of India-Pakistan too gives away an all too blatant desire of weaponising over a lakh fans to psyche out a team of eleven. The dil-dosti bandwagon isn’t due for a rerun anytime soon. And social media is at its worst. But India surprises too.
Tuesday night, when the deejay was invoking the crowd at Hyderabad with ‘jeetege bhai jeetega’ chants, they chimed in with “Pakistan jeetega”. In a video on PCB’s social media handle, a spectator says: “Pakistan ka fans nahi hai lekin hum Pakistan ko support kar rahe hain (We aren’t Pakistan fans but we are supporting them here).” Outlining the difference wasn’t necessary, but he nevertheless did. The sentiment was pretty consistent too—paisa vasool cricket and heartfelt wishes, something that prompted Rizwan to even instinctively compare Hyderabad with Rawalpindi.
“The way the crowd gave us mohabbat, and not just me, the whole Pakistan team…in fact, they supported Sri Lanka too,” said Rizwan after turning around a difficult chase. “Hospitality, I mean you all must have seen the pictures when we came to the airport. But what you guys didn’t see was the way these guys welcomed us.”
And then, there were the duas. “As I entered the ground, the curator told me you need to score 200,” said Rizwan. “I met him afterwards, we’d developed a bond, not just with him, but the people too. They did their duas for us and we did the same for them.”
Last day of the Hyderabad leg, Babar Azam presented a signed shirt to the head curator and posed for photos with the entire ground staff. What would you call this? Organic support, unadulterated adulation?
Whatever this is, don’t be surprised because similar welcomes are expected elsewhere. Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata have long been favoured destinations of Pakistan for their sporting crowds. And if Pakistan’s arrival was any indication—the team was showered with rose petals and greeted with dhol—Ahmedabad may not feel alienating even if the next opponent is India.
Lines are bound to be drawn, for this is a game infused with a life of its own, with repercussions not just limited to the context of the tournament but countries, borders and geopolitics. A cricket team from Pakistan can never not be acutely aware of that. But the same goes for India too. At home, at the biggest cricket stadium of the world, ahead of the mother of all clashes in a World Cup that hasn’t been won since 2011, the stakes can only be greater for an India cricketer.
World Cups at home anyway are an emotionally draining exercise—with teams hopping from one venue to another every fourth or fifth day, patiently absorbing the ever-growing demand of winning the World Cup. More pressure when the “but you can’t lose against Pakistan” rider is added before this match.
That way, Pakistan are more insulated than India, quietly going about their business without any distraction. Pakistan cricket has never really bothered to conform to any pattern but one has now emerged of a team supremely comfortable in its ability. A new Pakistan too, with no news of disciplinary breakdowns or dressing room bust-ups… yet.
There have been attempts to normalise this tour. Which explains the overdose of phrases like “lots of excitement” and “players trying to get a sense of what it’s like to play here” in Pakistan coach Grant Bradburn’s press conference. But Pakistan players are also aware of the uneasy duality of coming to India hoping to win a World Cup. Many factors may not go their way. Like the pitch, for example, which at Hyderabad wasn’t exactly conducive for stroke-making. But Rizwan was prepared. “Saeed (Anwar) bhai told us not to think about Indian pitches,” he told Abdullah Shafique in a video on PCB’s website. “Because you need to be ready for any pitch, any country. That took my mind off the pitch.”
Some love never hurts, but Rizwan has no doubt what they are here for. “Hum bhi ready hai, aur ummeed hai woh bhi ready hai. (We are ready, hope India are too
