KARACHI: Nine years is a long time. Children grew up hoping to see their cricket idols in action. Those who lived during happier times prayed for a chance to go to the stadium once again. As a budding cricket fan getting more and more involved with the game, I longed for cricket to return to Karachi – to the city of over 20 million deprived of the privilege that other cricket-playing countries enjoy without any strings attached.
Keep two friends apart for nine years, and they may grow apart. Put a family through the tests of time and distance, and the first signs of strain may begin to show. But what is it about cricket and Pakistan? The heart-breaking alienation, the almost-decade long isolation, only brought the two closer than ever.
“It’s the resilience of cricket lovers in Pakistan. That’s why your country and cricket are so inseparable, that’s how [you guys bounced back from number 8 ranking] to win the ICC Champions Trophy against all odds,” an Australian journalist once told me. I’ve heard similar things from other people – mostly outsiders who have marvelled at the unwavering resolve of Pakistani fans despite the tragedies.
March 25, 2018 dawned sunny and bright. After months of restless anticipation, the historical day had arrived: cricket was finally returning to the City of Lights, reviving the lost hopes and restoring smiles of millions who had willed for this moment to happen. There was excitement all around; happy vibes that reflected in the life-sized posters of cricketers propped up in the city, that showed on people’s faces when they stopped to pose for photos alongside the main roads, that beamed through the decorative lights adorning the trees in the week leading up to the final. Karachi lit up, literally, to welcome cricket back with open arms.
It was electric inside the National Stadium. There was not a single empty seat to be seen anywhere. More than 30,000 fans roaring and cheering on their teams was a sight to behold – a sight etched in my memory forever. Because this was more than just a game of cricket. It was a loud, passionate message to the rest of the world: our cricket has come back to where it belongs, to our own grounds and to our own streets, in front of our people, and it’s here to stay.
What never fails to amaze me is how cricket unites this country like no other thing. On the day of the PSL final, I saw beaming smiles all around on my way to the National Stadium: on the faces of Rangers personnel, policemen and policewomen, traffic constables, ground staff, children and adults. Nobody seemed to mind the hard work. It was as if a wave of pure happiness had washed over everyone. I saw security forces wave and shout at the spectators in good humour, and the spectators waved back in equally good spirits. There was a sense of comradeship: strangers seemed to have become friends for this occasion.
Excited fans even ran away with life-sized posters of Shahid Afridi on their way back from the match, and nobody objected. You couldn’t feel any negative emotion even if you tried hard on that day.
As someone who lives and breathes cricket and badly wanted our stadiums to light up again, I’m deeply grateful to the efforts of all those who made such a historic evening possible: PCB chairman Najam Sethi and the board management, the security forces, the Pakistan Army, the Sindh government and the local administration, the ground crew, the PSL franchises, the foreign and local cricketers, the ICC, and all those who worked behind the scenes to bring cricket back to Karachi, back to Pakistan.
But behind all these efforts was also the strong will of this nation, the resilience to never give up on our cricket. We, as a proud cricket-loving people, willed cricket to return to our country. And it has.
The writer is a producer at Geo.tv and tweets @Mariaa_54