Latest news with #PakistanCricketteam
Express Tribune
03-03-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Cricket, critics, and the curious case of Pakistan's generosity
Pakistanis shower Vikrant Gupta with love, but is it hospitality or a deep-seated need for external validation? In a rather tedious turn of events in the past few days, the Pakistan Cricket team is out of the Champions Trophy tournament sooner than a Pakistani opener after hitting one boundary. Needless to say, the anticipation for the country to show off their hosting spirits at the return of an international tournament after 30 years lasted much longer. However, the bitter aftertaste of cricket as a fleeting escape from the country's prevailing misery lingers. Now we must be on the look out for its strange manifestation, ranging from pretentious ignorance curtailing inner turmoil and fiery reception of Indian journalist Vikrant Gupta in a country he continues to dismiss. Don't get me wrong, I find it wholesome to see the bright-eyed and bushy-tailed people of Lahore cheering for Gupta, who arrived in Pakistan on February 26, just two days after the country's crushing defeat to India. A defeat, mind you, that happened in Dubai – after the BCCI cited security concerns to justify pulling out of playing in Pakistan. In retrospect though, it was probably for the best. In months leading up to the tournament, Gupta peddled the same narrative across his digital platforms, even spreading rumors as far back as October that the ICC was considering relocating the Champions Trophy from Pakistan to Dubai, Sri Lanka, or South Africa. His overt reiteration of the stance to blame the 'cross-border terrorism' between Pakistan and India extended all through his coverage of the tournament, reinforcing doubts about Pakistan's ability as hosts and feeding into the broader geopolitical tensions surrounding cricket in the region. However, in just three days since his arrival in Pakistan, the sports critic has been met with celebratory chants from the locals of Lahore, secured a prime-time slot on a comedy talk show, and enjoyed shakarkandis (sweet potatoes) on the very streets he once deemed 'unsafe.' Even more so, Gupta has appeared to cloak his stance of security threat in Pakistan by shifting the blame on sour history between the two countries. The revered treatment of such cross-border public figures is not unprecedented. A video of spectators in Islamabad celebrating Virat Kohli's winning century against the Pakistani team during a local screening on the street recently went viral, and needless to say, I was thoroughly unsettled by the cringe. Because these celebrated athletes are the prime reason the tournament was stripped of its full significance as Pakistan's long-awaited return as a major host. If we go back a little farther, a similar scene unfolded during Javed Akhtar's visit to Pakistan in 2023. Despite his openly critical remarks about Pakistan at a literary festival in Lahore, he was met with overwhelming admiration, poetic tributes, and a hero's welcome. The irony was hard to miss – while he took the stage to denounce Pakistan, his audience hung on to his every word, applauding a guest who had no qualms about reinforcing divisive narratives. Meanwhile, the persistent idealization of Bollywood stars, regardless of their anti-Muslim rhetoric, reinforces the deep-seated cultural amnesia that prioritizes celebrity worship over self-respect. This strange rite of passage really does make one wonder: What is it about the validation from unapologetic critics of our ideologies that appeases us so much? Is it self-sabotage, desperation for approval, or an enduring hope that warmth can thaw hostility? As much as Pakistanis take pride in our hospitality culture, the videos churning out of Gupta's fan meets in Lahore leave a sour taste in mouth. Because despite our optimistic assumptions, he has never shied away from an opportunity to degrade our team, pulling out all stops to justify the Indian team for choosing to opt out of traveling to Pakistan. The counterpart of Gupta wouldn't be extended the same warmth in India. We saw it in 2023 Cricket World Cup, when Zainab Abbas was practically bullied out of the country following backlash over alleged old anti-Hindu social media posts. I neither seek nor expect the same treatment for Gupta in Pakistan; however, his warm reception here offers a stark contrast to the bigotry in the neighbouring country, where hostility often overshadows any notion of sportsmanship or goodwill. We have long bend over backwards to win over others by our gracious, often extravagant displays of hospitality. However, this benevolent attitude of Pakistanis feed into the theory of post-colonial hangover, where seeking validation from more powerful forces comes like a second nature. In the context of India, the subconscious desire to be acknowledged by those perceived more influential often comes off desperate and self-deprecating. In an attempt to be simpler, these gestures could also be translated to us overcompensating for negative stereotypes associated with the country. While Vikrant Gupta enjoys a hero's welcome, it's worth asking – do all voices in Pakistan receive the same level of warmth? Loving someone else's star is obviously easier; there is nothing to lose there. But owning your own clan, regardless of their shortcomings takes a different kind of courage that we as a nation severely lack. In fact, even our hospitality is selectively reserved for outsiders, as evident in the treatment of fellow countrymen of different faiths, who continue to face systemic discrimination and violence. The treatment of Hindus, Christians, and other marginalized groups expose the deep cracks in our image of tolerance – cracks we desperately try to mend with the fragile glue of performative inclusivity and selective generosity. This is not a hate piece. Nor is it written to drive people away from enjoying the cricket season. However, at the end of the day, these stars are mere caricatures of public admiration and while it is not a crime to celebrate artists from across the border and beyond, it is important to recognize the gaps in our self-esteem when it comes to extending unwarranted adulation to those who wouldn't waste a breath to shun the 'enemy country' such as ours to score points within theirs.
Express Tribune
24-02-2025
- Sport
- Express Tribune
The stump that broke the camel's back
An endless cycle of heartbreak? This time around its game over and goodbye for the Pakistan Cricket team and its fans. One more Sunday wasted. One more match winning knock by Kohli against pakistan. A slew of our neighbours' god-awful and tired 'TV breaking' jokes. Despite vowing not to do so, the entire nation tuned in to the big match once again which is standard for us. However, this time, there was notably little fanfare or excitement preceding a game that is time and again touted as 'the greatest rivalry', for none of us harboured any delusions about our team winning against the current T20 world champions India. It wasn't a question of if Pakistan would lose, rather how badly. Maybe I'm being too cynical but I was once a starry-eyed admirer of PCT during their wholesome, 'dosti-yaari' era and it has taken an embarrassing amount of losses to engage with the sport with this level of nonchalance. Unaware that I was signing up for a ton of heartbreak and hypertension in what would become a kind of toxic relationship, it was the 2021 T20 world cup match against India that had me sitting down to watch a cricket match for the first time in several years. The only people I could recognise in this new Pakistani team were Muhammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik. Meanwhile, Afridi also looked a little different. Nevertheless, the duo consisting of some guys named Rizwan and Babar would lead us to a 10-wicket win. What me and Babar Azam have in common with regard to that day though is the fact that that game would mark the beginning of the end although it seemed like the opposite in that moment. As a fangirl and sports watcher I am not above being pathetically emotional over my favourite band or sports team. Admittedly, my newfound interest in cricket was also driven mostly by vibes rather than sound technical knowledge of the game. While I do not allow the label of 'seasonal fan' to undermine my experiences, in my defence, there is so little that unites us in this country. Plus, it felt good to be part of the collective celebration of a team that only got better with every match. Pakistan's Cricket team circa 2021 truly felt like it was a microcosm of a potential Pakistan that overcame its problems to achieve progress. So while the 2021 campaign left me in tears, I still rallied behind the team, hopeful that next time the glory would be ours. I grew up hearing the phrase 'God does not help a nation unless they help themselves'. Not to veer into blasphemous territory but in 2022 it felt like PCT embodied the total opposite sentiment of the saying since 'Qudrat ka nizam' seemed to work in their favour even though the players did little to help their own situation. Going to the semi-final from the brink of an early exit, the 2022 T20 world cup was proof that Pakistan is as much a nation of mathematicians and astrologers than it is of fast bowlers. We also went into that tournament high off an Asia Cup victory against India. If I were to do a 'bottle this moment and inject it into my veins' round up for this team, that match would be among the top 3 alongside the semi-final win against New Zealand. Picture this: It is the night of 4th September 2022. The air was heavy with the promise of rain and the sweet taste of a win against our rivals. Pakistan needed 30 runs within 3 overs with 6 wickets to spare. As Asif Ali's ball soared through the air, into the palms of India's Arshdeep Singh, my hands instinctively rose to shield my eyes from watching yet another dream shatter one catch at a time, until it didn't. In a surreal twist of events, the crowd around me erupted into cheers as the catch was dropped and Pakistan subsequently went on to win that match. As it goes, resilience, hope and being wildly delusional can only carry you so far. In fact, it is surprising that for a nation so racked by instability and stagnation, the words 'unpredictable', 'corned tigers' and 'resilient' were ever a compliment. Soon enough the cracks would begin to show in the form of mismanagement and injuries but that niggling faith that we will bounce back from the trenches would begrudgingly remain. Now that my detachment from the sport allows me to see the state of affairs more objectively, I can tune into games with the solemnity of a condemned man walking to the gallows. This also prompts introspection about whether I really care about the sport or just the way it made me feel. So I ask, do we as a nation care about the betterment of this team or are we yearning for what it represents? For me it is the heady sense of patriotism and sharing communal joy and sorrow that I struggle to rouse on other occasions. For others it might represent the belief that we can achieve victory in spite of the debilitating problems that make everyday in this country a battle to survive. Perhaps it is time to explore other avenues where that joy might also exist such as women's cricket or the sport that brought us Olympic Gold after 32 years. As we grapple with the nail-in-the-coffin loss of last night, it feels necessary to establish certain resolutions early on in 2025. Firstly, we deserve better as a country, including our athletes who are routinely scapegoated to gloss over the systemic shortcomings of the institutions that handle sports in this country. Secondly, more than anyone we need to hold ourselves accountable for becoming so invested in one sport both emotionally and financially, that an inevitable defeat blinds us to the strides being made in other areas, especially without the support and backing that is afforded to this cricket. Let's be real though, we're all going to shamelessly show up for the next match and the one after that too. In the end, this game will just be one more colonial relic that continues to ravage us long after our overlords have departed.
