By Anjum Ibrahim
Copyright brecorder
“Cricket is a game and should be played like a game.”
“Correct, and there is a spirit of cricket that must be honoured at all cost, so said the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board.”
“He is right, and I reckon the country snatched victory from the jaws of an ignominious defeat.”
“Didn’t we lose to the Indians by seven wickets? I mean, doesn’t that qualify as an ignominious defeat! Now, had we won the game, and they didn’t shake our players hands, they would have been dubbed as sore losers.”
“Oh, but that’s just not important any more, we got the umpire to apologise and last I heard he was not going to umpire any match where our team played.”
“That would have been a serious issue back in 1992 when we won the world cup – the first and only time…”
“Shut the hell up. The narrative must be now on the victory, not on the questionable selection process, not on the players’ poor performance. Cricket is built on fairness, respect, and the spirit of the game.”
“Hmmm I have a question: is politics a game?”
“I guess, but of thrones.”
“And cricket is a game of?”
“Of a trophy – you take home for a time…not that we have taken any trophies home in recent years but…”
“But isn’t that the same as getting a throne – you keep it for a while, and then you don’t.”
“Right, but if the choice is between a throne and a trophy…”
“Both are transitory honours, my friend – you have to let it go at some point. I mean no one can say with certainty that a game won will be till death.”
“Reminds me of Humpty Dumpty – all the King’s men and all the King’s women…”
“It’s all the King’s horses, not women.”
“There is a law in this country that there will be no discrimination against women, and so I am into gender equality these days.”
“Is that one of the laws that is being implemented?”
“Oh shush.”
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
