Hasan Jawad has been working as a taxi driver in Dubai since he moved to the Emirates from Bangladesh over three years ago. Just like many of his fellow South Asians, the opportunity to earn more money brought the 24-year-old to the UAE. And just like the overwhelming majority of South Asians, Hasan is a cricket buff.
“I think the Kings will turn the tables around today,” he said while we drove towards the Dubai Cricket Stadium from Al-Barsha around 7 pm on Saturday, February 20 for the second playoff of the Pakistan Super League (PSL). Hasan’s team, Karachi Kings, were taking on Islamabad United, having qualified for the playoffs after winning just a couple of games.
I asked Hasan if he supported the Kings because of Bangladeshi star Shakib Al-Hasan. “No, it’s because of (Mohammed) Amir,” he replied. “Yes, I am a big fan of Shakib, like all Bangladeshis, but I’m even a bigger fan of Amir. I think Bangladesh Premier League helped Amir get back into the Pakistani team.”
In one of the greatest T20 matches ever played, Zalmi took on Gladiators in the first playoff on February 19
Five minutes away from the stadium Hasan, who confessed to being a cricket fan who did not believe in national divides, said that he could relate to what Amir went through during the spot-fixing scandal. “I’ve made mistakes in the past due to lure of money and naivety of youth. I genuinely believe Amir will come out strongly from the whole episode, and I hope to recover from my past mistakes as well.”
Hasan hoped more Bangladeshis like Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan play in the PSL, and more Pakistanis take part in the BPL. “Cricket can bridge all divides, I think. Whether it’s India-Pakistan or Bangladesh-Pakistan. Cricket can bring everyone together,” he said. “PSL unites us in UAE. However, my loyalty will remain towards the Kings when the teams take to the field.”
Shahid Afridi and Misbah during the coin toss for the semi-final
Inside the General Admission section of the stadium, two Indians sat in front of me. Manohar and Rohini were wearing the Indian cricket World Cup 2011 jerseys, whose colour coincided with the Kings’ blue. I asked them whether they supported the Kings because of Ravi Bopara who is of Indian origin. “Why would we support a team because of a British cricketer?” said Rohini, who along with Manohar was actually supporting Islamabad United, the namesake of their favourite football team Manchester United. “We’re actually huge sports fans,” confessed Manohar. “We’ve tried to watch as many PSL games as was possible. If not in the stadium then definitely at home. We’re also going to watch the Dubai tennis tournament this week as well. I think PSL is great for the game and we hope it can reach the stature of IPL soon. But yes, our team in the PSL will always remain Islamabad United.” United thrashed the Kings by nine wickets to book a place in the third playoff against Peshawar Zalmi on February 21.
There were massive celebrations in I/9 Warsak Road on February 20, where Asad Aslam and his friends used to get together to watch United’s games together. “I hated the memes about Islamabad fans going to sleep early and not watching any PSL games,” said Asad, an A-levels’ student. “My friends and I got together at my place to watch all United matches. I know countless other Islooites, who did the same. Just because we’re not in your face – or obnoxious – when it comes to supporting our local team, it does not mean that Islamabad was asleep during the PSL!”
The crowd at a PSL fixture
Muhammad Haseeb, a Dubai-based civil engineer came in early to the stadium on February 21 expecting a full-house like the previous Zalmi game against Quetta Gladiators on Friday. What made him stand out in a pool of yellow Zalmi shirts was his Lahore Qalandars jersey in a match featuring Peshawar and Islamabad. “I am a born and bred Lahori. So obviously I am a Qalandars fan,” Haseeb said. “But once my team was dumped out of the PSL I had to pick a second team. I couldn’t have stopped watching the PSL; it’s the best thing to have happened to me for a while!”
Haseeb’s choice was made easy when the Kings vs United matchup was finalised as the second playoff. “Of course, any team that plays Karachi will have Lahore’s support,” he said. “That it was Islamabad United, further made the choice easier, since no one really would be watching PSL there anyway. I can assure you that the surge in United’s glory hunting supporters came after Kings and Qalandars were eliminated. There are more United fans in Lahore and Karachi than in Islamabad itself.”
Crowd watching the final at a screening in Balochistan
"I'm here for Quetta, and I'm here for Balochistan and the Baloch people"
Maham Ali, an arts student in Karachi, says the Lahore vs Karachi rivalry is as big as India vs Pakistan. “I believe the number of people that watched Lahore vs Karachi PSL games was bigger than the number of people that tuned into watch the Indo-Pak World Cup match last year,” she said. “As someone said on Facebook, Lahore vs Karachi isn’t just a clash between the two biggest cities of Pakistan, it’s biryani vs pulao, beach vs canal, Mazar-e-Quaid vs Badshahi Masjid, so on and so forth.”
Maham confessed that while the temptation was there to jump aboard the United bandwagon after Kings were eliminated, she has vowed to stick with the Kings through thick and thin. “I honestly believe that the Kings had the best squad of all the PSL teams. It’s just that no one showed up,” she said. “Huge T20 names like Shoaib Malik and Shakib Al-Hasan didn’t do anything. I was expecting a lot from Imad Wasim as well, but he failed miserably in a tournament that was dominated by left-handers. I don’t know what we would have done without Ravi Bopara. But at least Karachi did the double over Lahore.”
Misbah-ul-Haq - credited with bringing a 'new ethos' to Pakistani cricket
Misbah has brought a new ethos to Pakistani cricket
The day before Karachi Kings were eliminated by United, PSL witnessed the game of the tournament, and one of the greatest T20 matches ever played. Zalmi took on Gladiators in the first playoff on February 19, a game that was on the knife’s edge till the very final delivery. “Zalmi blew it at the end. The game was ours to lose,” said Rahimullah, a middle-aged businessman from Peshawar who had travelled to the UAE just to support his team. But he rejoiced at the fact that the top two teams going into the playoffs represented Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the two most volatile provinces of Pakistan. “Look around you; a Pakistan cricket league match in Dubai has packed the stadium with people wearing jerseys of Peshawar and Quetta. Chants of Peshawar zindabad and Quetta zindabad echo with Pakistan zindabad. I don’t think any event has done more for the integration of alienated communities than the PSL,” he said.
Seated a row below Rahimullah were three Gladiators’ supporters enjoying every moment of the game. Akbar, the eldest of the three friends, would keep asking his more knowledgeable friends what was going on. “I have never watched any cricket match before the PSL,” Akbar said. “But I was told that Quetta will be playing, so I have come here to support Quetta. I’m here for Quetta, and I’m here for Balochistan and the Baloch people.”
Sharjeel Khan during thea final
Gladiators took on United in the inaugural PSL final on February 23. The house was full and roads jammed outside the stadium on a Tuesday night. Agha Saleem, a Multan-based professor had booked the PSL final ticket weeks before the playoff teams were finalised. “I’m here to support Pakistan. I’m here to support cricket. However, more than anything, I’m here to support what the PSL represents. It’s more than just cricket.”
Saleem said that Quetta taking on Islamabad carries a lot of symbolic value for the ‘development of the new Pakistani narrative’. “Granted, the Quetta team is made entirely of players from outside, but that’s not how the average Gladiators fan sees it. It’s Quetta’s team, and it represents the people of Quetta,” he said. “I have extended family living in Quetta and they tell me that people are glued to their TV screens whenever the Gladiators are playing. I’ve been told even hardcore secessionists tune in to the action, wanting Quetta to win more than anything else in the world. I can’t think of anything else where Baloch nationalism has overlapped with Pakistani nationalism in a way that everyone wins. This is what Pakistan has needed for ages.”
Faheem Rashid, a Lahore-based cricket coach, says that cricket in Quetta and Balochistan will flourish with the advent of PSL and the success of Quetta Gladiators. “Only one cricketer from Quetta has represented Pakistan at the international level. We should expect that number to increase in the next few years. Gladiators are huge in Balochistan, and the province is now embracing cricket like never before.”
Saleem believed that with all the talk of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) being the fulcrum of a greater regional integration through energy sharing and trade, it’s actually cricket that has the power to unite Pakistan and South Asia like nothing else. “You have Indians, Bangladeshis and Sri Lankans keenly following the PSL. Separate nationalities and communities in Pakistan are uniting through PSL. I think it’s more than just a feel-good myth that cricket can and will bridge divides and eliminate borders. PSL and cricket could be the great unifier in South Asia.”
United eventually beat Gladiators by six wickets to clinch the first ever PSL trophy. Misbah-ul-Haq the United captain flicked Anwar Ali to midwicket to score the winning run after fifties from Dwayne Smith and Brad Haddin had made the ominous run chase of 176 runs seem that much easier. “It is fitting that Misbah scored the winning shot and lifted the inaugural PSL trophy,” says sports writer Daniyal Zahid. “Not only is United’s win another feather in the illustrious cap of Misbah-ul-Haq, if we look at the multi-pronged symbolism attached to PSL, there was no one more deserving to be the inaugural PSL winning captain than Misbah,” he added.
Daniyal said Misbah has added a new ethos to Pakistani cricket which should be a part of the greater narrative as well. “It’s the discipline, hard work and unity that Misbah brought to the national cricket team that has helped it survive the recent turbulent times. We now need to adopt this rationality into the national discourse, and sort out the many fault-lines that exist in our state and society. The PSL has definitely brought us all one step closer to unity.”
