Playing cricket the Canadian way on Ramzan nights

Its 11:30 pm, people by now have digested their iftari and bowed before the Divine. In one part of the town, cricket teams, carrying a good mixture of young and experienced players — and of course a few odd ones who refuse to admit that age is no more on their side — gather to flex their muscles and test their skills with a bat and ball. The cool breeze adds to the thrill. Lights are on, balls are wrapped in white tape, bats twirling in hands, and as always, everyone feels a few butterflies in their stomach.

As the umpire gives the signal, the bowler steams in and bangs the ball hard, batsman makes contact and slams the ball over the rope, teammates jump with joy while the bowler heads back to his mark fuming for revenge.

Cricket tournaments are a common sight during Ramazan nights, but this was different than the others as it the game was being played not in any street or ground, but in a parking lot. It was a parking lot of one of the many shopping plazas in Mississauga, a bustling suburb of Toronto, Canada – for many Pakistanis, a home away from home.

As culture migrates

Over the last decade and a half, scores of Pakistanis have migrated to Canada and made it their base. They landed in the new country with their culture tucked in their overflowing suitcases. Canadians were introduced to kurta shalwars, packets of spices used in desi food, halwa puri and paan made with betel leaf. Cramped in this cultural invasion, came Pakistanis' own brand of cricket, the night tournaments, especially in Ramazan.

Due to the harsh weather that starts in October and stretches through late April, players in Canada are forced to practise indoors in makeshifts nets that are set up in warehouses. So when summer knocks on the door, everyone dashes out to sharpen their skills and shed the winter fat.

Luckily this year, Ramazan and summer, both arrived at the same time.

Night cricket in Ramazan is a decade old tradition that scales new heights each year. Originating from Karachi, it has now gone viral in almost all parts of Pakistan. Generations after generations have sweated hard under lights and in recent years almost all cricketing stars have shined bright in these games.

Marking their pitch

Although night cricket has been around in Toronto for a while, the idea of hosting tournaments in Ramazan in Mississauga was the brainchild of four Ryerson University students who decided to bring to life their childhood memories.

As the teams behind us fight hard trying to make it to the next round, I sit down with the four fanatics exploring their love for the game and the early entrepreneurial struggles.

“It’s our passion for cricket,” says one of the organisers, Masood Anwarzada. “We used to hold such tournaments at our university but as we graduated and the number of players grew in GTA (Greater Toronto Area) we felt the need to step out and hold these games on a larger scale.”

Eager to fill us in with further details, Jazib Nehal says it was in 2013 when they decided to take this seriously. “We came up with a proper tournament format and used the social media to spread the word around. There has been no looking back since then,” he adds. “Today we have 10 teams participating in the tournament while six others had to be refused entry due to lack of space. We want to take things as smooth as we can and don’t want to take a bite bigger than what we can chew.”

The interview is interrupted by deafening cheers as one of the famous hitters slams two consecutive sixes.

“You will be amazed to see the quality of cricket being played here,” says Shayan Khawaja.

“Guys here take their game very seriously and there is no room for underperformers, if you don’t give 100% you are out the next game,” he adds with a touch of humour. “There are many aspirants who want to prove themselves as the next Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Akthar.”

When asked how things were there as compared to Karachi where K-Electric is the biggest evil against night cricket, Ali Mustafa giggles, saying they do not have any power cuts in Canada. “But yes the police are not always kind and have issues with us using these parking lots and we often have to find a new one,” he says. “Thankfully this one is off their radar till now. I hope they don’t read your article and find out”.

And for the teams that are the real heroes of the show, the organisers have some mouth-watering incentives. “The tournament winners would bag $800 prize money and runners-up would enjoy a free meal at one of the popular kebab houses,” says Nehal. “The game will end close to sehr and I am sure they would be very hungry.”

Another game has ended by now and the topic of discussion moves to the all-important Pakistan versus Sri Lanka match. I realise that people in Canada are keenly following the ICC Champions Trophy and are eager to see clash of the resurgent teams in Cardiff. While most are all praise for team Sarfaraz, there is mutual fear that Sri Lanka would not be an easy coffee and donut treat for the Green Shirts.

Pakistanis in Canada are working hard and making inroads in various fields. Talk about cricket and players of the likes of Rizwan Cheema, Khurram Chohan and Hamza Tariq, all are making the community proud. And now with these friends putting up tournaments like these together, who knows we might see multicultural or even international leagues of night tape ball cricket in future. As they say, sky is the limit.