Pakistan cricket fan: No Chacha cricket, only Chacha Chicago in Mohali

Mohammad Bashir’s love for cricket began in 2010 when he travelled to the West Indies to watch the 2007 World Cup.

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Mohammad Bashir from Chicago in Mohali on Monday . (Express Photo by Kamleshwar Singh)

Just as Mohammad Bashir approaches the main gate at the I S Bindra Stadium in Mohali, the Pakistani cricket fan, fondly called Chacha Chicago, is approached by a group of seven to eight youngsters. With the Pakistan cricket team training inside the stadium, Bashir knows it will be long wait as he is also offered lunch by the Indian fans outside the stadium.

“Yeh hai India ke awam ki mohabbat and yahi mujhe yahan le ati hai (this is India’s love for me and this brings me to watch cricket). Students offer me lunch, tea shops do not take money from us and people wait with me for the team buses just to start a conversation with me. Our skipper Shahid Afridi only said the truth that they get more love here in India as compared to Pakistan. Those who got angry by this will keep crying like this all their life,” said the 63-year-old who runs a Biryani restaurant, Garib Nawaz, in Chicago.

Bashir’s love for cricket began in 2010 when he travelled to the West Indies to watch the 2007 World Cup. The ardent cricket fan has seen Pakistan winning the 2009 T20 World Cup. He has also travelled to England to watch his team play apart from Australia and New Zealand during last year’s 50-over World Cup.

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Apart from Pakistan, Indian cricketers also remain a favourite for Bashir with Indian skipper M S Dhoni also giving him a bat during last month’s Asia Cup. “Aap hamari team le lo and Dhoni hamein de do. He is world’s best player and a player like him can make any team win the world cup. Like his captaincy, he is also a good person by heart and gave me one of his bats after they won the final in Asia Cup in Bangladesh last month. I plan to install it at my restaurant in Chicago. During the 2014 World T20 Cup also, he had arranged tickets for me,” shares Bashir, who hails from Karachi.

Bashir though does have an Indian connection. His wife Rafia is from Hyderabad, India, and his son and three daughters too visit the country at times. This trip has seen Bashir getting rasgullas from Kolkata apart from bangles and saris from Hyderabad.

Tough visa norms and the late ticket schedule though have meant that not many Pakistan fans have come to see their team play against New Zealand and Australia. The last few months have also seen the die-hard Pakistani cricket fan, Abdul Jaleel, famously dubbed ‘Chacha Cricket’ (or Uncle Cricket), recognised by his long white beard and the traditional green salwar kameez he sports while waving the Pakistani flag, not travelling with the team.

“They are saying that they issued 250 visas. But I am yet to meet a fellow Pakistan cricket fan here. I had come during the 2011 World Cup semis here and we enjoyed the hospitality here. Yes, we were cheering for Pakistan but we also appreciated India’s win. Akele Pakistan ka cricket thoda hai na,” signs off Bashir.

Nitin Sharma

Nitin Sharma is an Assistant Editor with the sports team of The Indian Express. Based out of Chandigarh, Nitin works with the print sports desk while also breaking news stories for the online sports team. A Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award recipient for the year 2017 for his story ‘Harmans of Moga’, Nitin has also been a two-time recipient of the UNFPA-supported Laadli Media Awards for Gender Sensitivity for the years 2022 and 2023 respectively. Nitin mainly covers Olympics sports disciplines with his main interests in shooting, boxing, wrestling, athletics and much more. The last 17 years with The Indian Express has seen him unearthing stories across India from as far as Andaman and Nicobar to the North East. Nitin also covers cricket apart from women’s cricket with a keen interest. Nitin has covered events like the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the 2011 ODI World Cup, 2016 T20 World Cup and the 2017 AIBA World Youth Boxing Championships. An alumnus of School of Communication Studies, Panjab University, from where he completed his Masters in Mass Communications degree, Nitin has been an avid quizzer too. A Guru Nanak Dev University Colour holder, Nitin’s interest in quizzing began in the town of Talwara Township, a small town near the Punjab-Himachal Pradesh border. When not reporting, Nitin's interests lie in discovering new treks in the mountains or spending time near the river Beas at his hometown. ... Read More

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