With five sons, four daughters and a wife to feed, Mohammad Rasheed has become a casualty of Pakistan’s descent into the sporting wilderness.
Rasheed used to make a comfortable living selling sweets and nuts to the crowds which would pack Pakistan’s grounds to watch Test match cricket and international field hockey.
But now the stadiums stand empty as teams refuse to tour — and tournaments are quickly shifted away from — the frontline state in the fight against Islamist militants.
PHOTO: AFP
The 44-year-old Rasheed, who sells maize (Channa) and nuts from a small tray was a common sight at most Pakistani stadiums.
Crowds sought him out as much for his rotund figure and good humor as his collection of dry fruits.
Cricket and hockey have been Rasheed’s passion as well as his livelihood. In between selling his goods on the terraces, he’d catch a glimpse of his favorite players — two joys for the price of one.
“Cricket is my first love,” Rasheed said. “I have sold Channa and Phulli [maize and nuts] at every stadium, be it cricket ground, hockey or football arena. I’d watch my favorite players and earn good profits.”
But the March 3 attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore have put paid to any immediate hopes of Pakistan hosting international sport in the immediate future.
The gun and grenade attack wounded seven members of the Sri Lankan team, along with their assistant coach. Eight Pakistanis were killed.
Today, Pakistan meet Australia on neutral territory — playing the first of five one-day matches and a Twenty20 game in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
India refused permission for its cricket team to tour Pakistan following a 60-hour siege siege on Mumbai last November, which New Delhi blamed on militants based across the border in its nuclear-armed rival.
The Indian cancellation cost the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) US$40 million in lost revenue. Relocating this week’s series against Australia cost the would-be hosts another US$2 million.
New Zealand has hinted it will not tour Pakistan later this year and on
Friday the International Cricket Council stripped the country of its right to host their share of the 2011 World Cup alongside Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka.
It all adds up to a bleak future for hawkers like Rasheed.
“I can afford a train ticket to go to cities in Pakistan, but who will give me an air ticket to go abroad?,” he asks. “I love Pakistan. I love my team and I want my team to always do well.”
It’s a bitter pill to swallow that he couldn’t make the Sri Lanka Test in Lahore because he was unwell. It might have been his last chance.
Mohammad Asif is another familiar face at cricket stadiums, assigned to operate the official clock above the scoreboard.
Unlike Rasheed, Asif works for a luxury watchmaker and hopes to find work in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
“I will lose a good amount which I used to get when the international season started in Pakistan,” Asif said.
Bashir Khan works for ground advertisers and used to earn around 400,000 rupees (nearly US$5,000) every season.
“Our stadiums are now without cricket and it will hit people like me very hard,” Khan said.
For now the hawkers are putting their faith in the PCB, doing its best to woo teams back to Pakistan.
“I will be there at the stadiums again. Things will get better, I’m sure,” Rasheed said.
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