Pakistan’s T20 Glory and my realization

Pakistan pulled it together and won the world T20 cup

The images were nothing short of stellar.

Shahid Afridi standing with his arms raised high in the middle of Lord’s. Younis Khan lifting the gleaming trophy with pure and pristine joy. Abdul Razzak marching around with the cup held high above his head. Umer Gul being greeted with a stunning roar to collect his medal.

It really is a moment of pride for Pakistan and a rare occassion for the torn nation to smile about something. Having said that,  I still feel a little out of place.

Happiness is the obvious emotion that I share with the millions of other Pakistani cricket-crazy fans. But there is something else, something uncomfortable, thats filling the void as well. For quite a few days, I tried to figure out what was disconcerting about this great win of ours – why isn’t it sinking in with me ? And I think that its because I’m feeling this twisted amalgam of unpreparedness and embarassment along with my happiness.

Why, you may ask ?

First, noone expected the Pak squad to clinch a win when the tournament started. With calculated unpredicatability and a surprise element that would make Copperfield look lame, the Greenshirts  gradually clawed their way out of the throat of death and clinched the prized trophy…and all of a sudden we realize there’s nothing more to wish for. It almost seems too good to be true.

The fact that Pakistan is so used to losing out on multi-nation tournaments  had hardwired reactions of regret and heartbreak inside me, such that other emotions like elation were completely lost when they were being called for. We’re champions now, no doubt, but I feel I have to consciously remind myself of that fact. Its like I want to savor this unparalleled moment without restraint but that ’sweet feeling’ of pride  remains elusive,  for some odd reason. It slips through my hands like an eel. In other words, I was not prepared for a Pakistan win – if that makes any sense.

I’m also embarassed because of what I had reduced my own national team to be during the start. I never gave them a chance. I never stood behind them. I even thought they would lose against the Netherlands. But they managed to land a ferocious slap on my face by stitching a legendary story with twists and turns, eventually leading to a remarkable triumph. And nobody knows how they did it. Their story doesn’t even make any sense. The only good thing is that it doesn’t really have to.

Dominance is the last word to describe their achievements in this World Cup – they struggled and strived for success. One moment they looked like a team playing the wrong sport, the next they were beating the hell out of New Zealand. And I agree with the analysts. I strongly believe that it was Afridi’s magestic catch against NZ that sent energizing shockwaves throughout the team,  magnetizing them towards a common goal powered by an rigid adamancy to win every match from thereon.

Coming back to my uneasiness. Distrust towards the team is a nationwide issue at times too. During this World Cup, there was a disturbing tendency (in cricket forums and debates over the lunch table) to switch to a mode of pessimism, the intensity of which would simply flatline all  rays of hope and faith. After losing the initial warm-up matches and the game against England, the word in the air was prematurely dismissive. Conspiracy theories starting erupting about rifts in the team and political intervention. Abdul Qadir’s blow out didn’t help things either. Everyone thought we’d be seeing the lads back home soon enough and well to be fair, this wasn’t just blind conjecture. Things on the field were pretty much in disarray. In fact, the administration was asking the players when they wanted their flights booked for back home after the disappointing game against Sri Lanka !

The fact the team was underplayed and lacked match practice were reasons thrown out of the window. I asked myself: if I was on the team, how would I feel if the nation I’m playing for is turning me to face the music. It’s only when the team reached the semis that the allegations turned into prayers.

What you have to give to the guys is that despite all the disparaging comments, they rose above the noise and won back hearts of many. The question is are these hearts worth winning over in the first place ? Hearts that oscillate from love to hatred in a heartbeat. Are we even true fans ? Like , look at us now. Everyone is not just expressing their joy but have the nerve to claim to have seen this coming and chanting ‘Boom Boom Afridi’ – the same Afridi that people had written off as junk pile of aggression a few years ago. Where are all our conspiracy theories now ? Where are Younis Khan’s critics now ? Where are those who rated our bowling unit as third class? Why have we changed colors now ?

Everytime the Pakistani team fails, the captain has to muster up the courage to come to the mike and reluctantly say that they tried their best but they apologize for the loss. I think this time we should shelve our ‘know it all’ attitudes and for once tell the guys: “We’re sorry we doubted you”. Let’s now cherish this sweet victory for a long time and PLEASE let’s be very very slow in forgetting it.

Anyways, my 10 pointers after this World Cup:

1. Pakistan’s biggest game plan is that they have no game plan. Caprice is scary enough.

2. Afridi knows how to bat sensibly. He knows how to take singles. So be Afridi. Very Afridi.

3. Umer Gul is a 2-in-1 brand: he’s as aggressive as Akhtar and as nagging as Asif.

4. Saeed Ajmal is our next Saqlain Mushtaq.

5. Younis Khan’s dismissal of Twenty20 cricket as ‘fun’…worked.

6. The ICL took in Abdul Razzaq, gave him a good polish and returned him back to us.

7. Misbah Ul Haq’s heartbreaking shot in the last final against India…just slipped my mind for good.

8. Intikhab Alam seems to be a lucky charm for Pakistan.

9. Now that Younis is retired, we need to put up a classified to recruit another Khan to fill in his boots.

10. Forgetting this WC will be like forgetting my name.

Pakistan Zindabad!