Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Congratulations!! India, Congratulations Pakistan,and shame! on you Shoaib Malik

When Misbah-ul-Haq lofted that ball behind the wicket I was sure I'll have a heart attack or something. I had gone totally numb; shuddering to watch the ball roll over to the boundary line for a four. I had no idea Sreesanth was there in catching position, and when he did catch it, I let out a roary YES and hugged my wife. There were tears in my eyes, happy tears:). Well done India, you've made us proud.

Well done Pakistan too; these guys played really well. Till Sreesanth took the match winning catch, I could see Misbah taking away the cup from us. It may sound stupid but beneath all the ecstasy I was feeling as an Indian, I couldn't help empathizing with the Pakistanis too. They really did a good job..it was anybody's game in the end. It was Shoaib Malik's speech at the presentation ceremony however, that drove out even the tiniest speck of empathy I had for Pakistan. I don't know if anybody paid attention or not but this is what he said. "First of all I would like to thank our supporters back in Pakistan, and all the Muslims in the rest of the world.."..??????? What the hell is this? What does Cricket have to do with Muslims, what does Cricket even have to do with religion for that matter? Does Shoaib Malik think Irfan and Yusuf Pathan were playing for Pakistan? Did he think Shahrukh Khan along with his son was cheering for Pakistan in the stands? It really hurts me to see such fanaticism in sportspersons. Fanaticism towards your country is great, but why bring religion in all of this. Shoaib Malik made it sound as if Pakistan were fighting for Muslims all over the world. What does he think of India, does he think we're Anti-Muslim?? We have more Muslims than the entire population of Pakistan Mr. Malik, and like it or not, they were cheering for India's victory too.

Anyway, congratulations!! everybody. Chak De!!!!!!!!

2 comments:

Nat said...

Hi...First time here....havent you noticed? beyond a certain point it always becomes about your religion, region or north indian south indian. Take any of those reality shows where people are required to vote for their favs - suddenly it becomes an state/religion/country issue with nasty comments that make you wonder if there are undercurrents n this country you were so blind to....

Unknown said...

Yeah I did notice. Something weird happening with your display name though...it's all blurry. You're absolutely right with all those points you make. In fact I have done something similar in an earlier post of mine 'Make Love...Not War'.