Monday, March 19, 2007

Fall of Four Great Empires


I have been busy lately with work and events happening around me so did not get a chance to post something on religion but I wanted to post this. Some people would say why post it on a religious blog, I am a human and I do follow religion but I also live in this world that is around me and Islam doesn’t stop humans to follow cricket. I am a die hard cricket fan; I have been since I was a kid. For some people cricket is a boring game but for me and millions of people around the world it has been a craze since I was a kid. Lots of events passed by in these 30 years, some were sad and some were happy. But unfortunately I witnessed the fall of four great empires in a single day and cricket won’t be the same again. Not in my lifetime at least……

With every loss there is a lesson to learn, we should learn from it instead of being critical of our cricket players. Great Empires were brought down by Power of people in the past and it has just happened again. But this time around the people who brought down the empires are not freedom fighters fighting for thier freedom ..they are bunch on insensitive and selfish human beings....

India Losing to Bangladesh:

India one of the favorites to win the world cup, and a cricket crazy nation was beaten by Bangladesh. Bangladesh is considered the minnows of cricket, for them it’s the moment of national pride and they have done well to beat India, and nothing can be taken away the way they played against one of the best teams. They totally deserved their victory, At least on that particular day they were good enough to win. But what saddened me was an India’s loss and consequences which will be followed within their cricket crazy nation. Cricket is a harsh game for people of sub continent, till they keep on winning they are highly respected and once they start losing their homes and burned, they are cursed and they are blamed for everything. People tend to forget cricket players are just humans and humans win and lose sometimes, God sends signs of weakness through the loss and as a lesson for the people to correct their mistakes and work to succeed better next time. But the Great Worldly Empire lead by Rahul Dravid is fallen, and it’s a sad sight which will not be forgotten for a while, not because India lost to Bangladesh but because people stop believing in their heroes as soon as they face bad patches in their lives. We tend to leave them alone in time of grieve; we are only loyal to our own selves.

Pakistan losing To Ireland

I am a Pakistani and I am a great fan of Pakistani cricket team, I always believed they can beat anyone and lose to anyone cause of their nature. Being a Pakistani i know how we play and conduct our daily activities, we use our hearts more than our brains. Emotions are given priority in our daily lives, taking that theory into consideration it wasn’t a total shocker for me that they lost to Ireland. They have lost to Bangladesh before, as I said cricket is a cruel game and people who follow cricket with passion are its enemy. Just like Indians, Pakistanis try to create a situation that players think if they lose than it will be a nightmare to return to their country and face criticism. No doubt Pakistan had the ability to win over Ireland but humans do commit mistakes and flatter in pressure, The pressure the Pakistani were in past one year was the beginning of their end. Losing the best players, drug related issues, captaincy issues, oval test, and other personal issues faced by player themselves. They are humans after all, even we if face some difficulties we can’t concentrate on our work and our social lives, we drown in depression. So why Pakistan cricket team has to pay for the natural calamity, again it’s the people who brought down their own empire. Our loyalty only stands with one who wins, a sad day indeed not cause of the loss to Irish but they way we are treating our fallen heroes.

Bob Woolmer – No More


The news of his death came as a shock to me; I couldn’t believe it first until I switched on my T.V. I am very saddened by the news, it’s like losing someone who has been close to you for years, and people would ask me why I feel that way after all he was just a coach. For me at least he was not just a coach, He was a perfect teacher. His passion for the game led him to his destiny; he was the best in the business.

I admired him for few reasons, he became part of Pakistani camp as soon as he joined the ranks, he respected their religious beliefs, he wasn’t a racist, and he supported his team in lows and highs as a father supports his children. Since, he became a coach he changed the face of Pakistani cricket. Unity and discipline was evident, he believed in positive cricket. Players got emotionally attached to him and it was vice versa for him. He could have just resigned and left for some other country; anyone would have welcomed him with open arms. But he chose to stick with bunch of emotional people, because he himself was an emotional person … I guess he related to them than anyone would or will ever relate…Pakistan and this world will never come across a coach like him ever again, at least not in my life time. As a Pakistani I would want my country to give him a state funeral or do something good for his family in which ever way its possible, he died as employee of Pakistan, he led from the front. I can go on and on about Bob Woolmer but my words won’t be enough; all I can say is I have lost a loved one today and the world has lost the best.

Inzamam Ul Haq – The Fall of the Legend


More bad news, Inzamam ul Haq resigned as a captain and retired from the one day cricket. I remember the 1992 world cup when he became a hero for our beloved country and his record shows that he was one of the greatest batsmen a world has seen. I feel very disappointed that he took all the blame for the loss which was caused by internal and external factors surrounding the whole team. Humans are weak at times and things like that happen, death of Bob Woolmer and resigning of Inzamam ul Haq show how emotional they were about their game and on the other hand I see people on TV burning their pictures and holding protests. The great empires are brought down by its people, and this time around it’s not different. We ourselves should take the blame for being insensitive to our cricketing world and its players, life will go on but it won’t be the same ever again… We with our own hands destroyed India, Pakistan, Bob and Inzamam. We should bring ourselves to justice, instead of blaming our teams and coaches.

It would have been better, if the whole Indian, Pakistani teams and Bob Woolmer would have resigned and moved on with their lives because people of sub continent don’t deserve greatness. And these great people don’t deserve the treatment they got from insensitive and unforgiving selfish humans; I guess they don’t have faith in the lord of this world and create situation which leads to all of these events. People who mess up everything just sit at home and criticize, go on with their lives, while cricketers suffer all their lives.

I pray to Allah, people start thinking about pros and cons of their actions, I also pray that Bobs Soul rest in peace, I also pray that Inzamam and company who practice religion to have patience in this time of grieve even though people are against them, cause Allah is always with them. Allah Is the Most Merciful and Most Beneficent. Allah tests people, one you survive that test you surly are the winner.

I am not sure about other people; I do support Indian, Pakistani cricket team, and Bob Woolmer and his family….. When they are low but not out. I hope other do as well…..In the end its just a game some win it and some lose it.
for more coverage of the events please visit :

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

i guess loving cricket as some of us asians do..it was a must u put it up...it shows how things can just flip around in your face..

the saddest was abt bob woolmer - he spent his life wanting and wishing for world cup glory...

but in life or games....u never know when things can change..

salams,
s

Anonymous said...

Great post and great tribute.

In the past couple of days, after reading articles like yours and having many discussions with friends and family, I realized cricket is such a complex topic when it comes to India and Pakistan. There are so many angles, the corporations pushing the cricket players into stardom, showing them in god-like light for the expected profits, the social angle of unity and pride for the country itself, the personal disappointment felt by the fan, the sense of escape it provides people in desperate situations. All these things put together is quite a lethal combination.

Hopefully, now after Woolmers murder, our people will understand that at the end of the day, a game is just a game and if we continue to be the way we are, we won’t have these players to play the game. Who would want to play when the pressure from your own supporters will kill you? Could we live without cricket? Or are we willing to change?

My husband found some great articles on this topic – check them out:

"Its Only a Game"
http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/ci/content/current/story/286676.html

"The Desi Fan"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6171549.stm

"The Precarious Cricket Economy"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6286295.stm

"South Asia's Cricket Obsession"
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/The_Desi_Fan/articleshow/1790380.cms