By Kamran Rehmat/Islamabad
The smile has returned to Pakistan - in spite of screaming odds. An outsider could be forgiven for assuming the South Asian state had, last Sunday, exorcised the demons of war that have haunted it for long, turning it into an almost forbidden territory.
Few could have imagined it would take a leader from the warrior race to provide calm the fidgety nerve -with a smile!
To be sure, conquest on a cricket pitch is slightly removed from the theatre being waged in the country’s northwest. But no-one in their right minds are denying the symbolic significance of the phenomenal green revolution.
Fittingly, the turnaround in national mood has been triggered by Pashtuns — Younus Khan, Shahid Afridi and Umer Gul — stellar cricketers from the very region that is at the heart of the world’s most important battle to exterminate terrorists.
They have, through their indomitable spirit on the field, united a desperate nation in a notable resolve: fighting back from the brink.
And yet, the script to begin with, appeared to be the work of a devil, not the Force of Nature as it turned out in the end.
In a troubled country like Pakistan, which is headlong into a draining fight for its very soul and where the sheer frequency and scale of deadly bombings is enough to sap the most willing spirit, it was difficult to imagine one man’s smile could provoke national ire. But it did — for a good fortnight!
The man whose grin rankled Pakistanis — and invited scorn among political columnists — is their cricket captain Younus Khan.
The anger subsided only after his green machine confounded critics to perform a Mission Impossible at the home of cricket. Perhaps, it was the only way 20/20 vision could be restored in the fickle world of Twenty20 — and subcontinent fans!
Before Lord’s beckoned on a sunny Sunday, the Pakistani captain had almost become discreet about his ‘grin-and-bear’ demeanour.
He first drew controversy when describing T20 as a “fun game” after losing to England in the first stab at qualifying for the Super Eights before declaring that not reaching the semi-finals should not be construed as a disaster.
In hindsight, the skipper was only edging out “butterflies-in-the-tummy” for his anxious team just as the kitchen heat rose.
But no-one quite forgave the captain for breaking into a grin after the current Sultan of Reverse Swing, Umer Gul, let one slip past him near the boundary in what should only have been a single in that England encounter.
So inept was the non-fielding — it would be optimistic to label it a misfield — that Gul, too, managed a wry smile when he stole a sheepish look at his astonishingly calm captain.
The Pakistani media however, went to town and a couple of seasoned political writers roasted the skipper for “making fun” of the game and his tendency to smile too much and out of place.
The quick inference was that he wasn’t taking the game seriously with the just-resigned chief selector, Abdul Qadir, even questioning his place in the T20 team!
Khan responded that he was misunderstood and smiling in adversity was just his way of absorbing pressure. He also recalled that terrorist attacks back home were deeply affecting and cited a suicide bombing in his native town that claimed several lives as an example.
However, cricket authorities back home cautioned Khan it was not his place to offer such opinion and to focus only on cricket.
An anonymous mailer from across the border, who regularly sends cutting edge comments to my inbox however, turned into a heady defence counsel last week.
“Actually, we think Younus Khan is a class act. He treats cricket with just the right amount of seriousness...not the life and death event most Pakistanis (and Indians) make it out to be. It’s just another game, dammit, not jihad (sic).
“For his sake, the team’s sake, and Pakistan’s sake, we hope Pakistan wins the T20 championship (now that India is out of it:)) We are rooting for Pakistan, especially since most of the pundits had written off the team. Go for it, Younus and Co! Have the last laugh!”
Khan also impressed the foreign media and cricket pundits with his outlook — his news conferences were described as one of the delights of the World Cup. The relentlessly chipper Pakistan captain was seen every bit as cheery in defeat against England and Sri Lanka as he was in victory against New Zealand, Ireland, The Netherlands, South Africa and Sri Lanka.
It is difficult not to appreciate the Pathan’s refreshing candour given the morale-sapping state of Pakistan Cricket and the usual negative vibes about team infighting.
Reduced to an international pariah — a traveling circus, according to one apt commentator — after a damning terrorist incident in Lahore this year targeted the visiting Sri Lankan team, Pakistan was stripped of hosting World Cup matches.
As if lack of international cricket was not acute enough, Pakistani cricketers were also deprived of Indian Premier League action even though it was hosted in South Africa.
Perhaps, Younus Khan’s smile was the great antidote Pakistan needed to make the cut against all odds including the turmoil that comes from playing in exile.
After a revenge victory over Ireland for the 2007 World Cup debacle, he only chose to dedicate it to late England coach Bob Woolmer, whom he called a father figure.
And in upstaging favourites South Africa in the semis, a battle-hardened Khan just put it down to an effort to bring back the smile on the war-hit displaced Pakistanis back home.
Having lost his father, two brothers and a sister to heart attack, road accidents and cancer — in that order — in little over two years, the Pakistani captain should know what it takes to smile through adversity.
To be sure it wouldn’t have mattered if Pakistan hadn’t won the T20 World Cup. In a land of tears, it would be a shame not to treasure Younus Khan’s smile.
l The writer is a freelance journalist based in Islamabad. He may be reached at kaamyabi@gmail.com
|
