Oh God, what a game!

Anwar, these days, looks different. He sports a thick beard, dresses in green salwar-kameez suits, wears a turban and preaches Islam. Yes, Anwar has taken to religion. Even while playing India in the World Cup, he had the beard. His affinity with Islam did not prevent him from playing cricket. Dropped from the Pakistan team after the World Cup, Anwar quit the game and will now spend his time propagating Islam.

The change came some two years back when his young daughter, Bismah, died. “I tuned to Allah for solace,” explained Anwar. Injuries kept him out of the game for some time, enabling him to ponder on his future moves. He felt a strange peace talking about the greatness of Allah and appealing to people to practise religion and seek divine guidance for their problems. Anwar was quick to repudiate extremist views. “I am no jehadi,” he stressed. “Don’t forget that Indian players are among my best friends.”

Anwar’s case was similar to that of former West Indian opener, Gordon Greenidge, whose ailing young daughter died while a test match was on. He rushed to her bedside but it was too late. Greenidge, however, continued in the game after the sad event.

The affinity between God and cricket seems to be growing among Pakistanis. Recently, after winning a test match against Bangladesh, singlehandedly, star batsman Inzamam-Ul-Haq, in a TV interview, attributed his success to Allah. Former Pakistan captain, Waqar Younis, who played a lot of cricket in England, never began a TV interview at the end of a match without offering prayers to Allah. Incidentally, former captain Imran Khan seldom mentioned Islam in post-match TV interviews. Perhaps, the current trend reflects changing times in Pakistan and its approach to Islam.

We hear a lot about cricket and politics but hardly anything about cricket and religion. This is good for the game. While Anwar’s change of priorities may have raised some eyebrows, it is not unusual for religious people to be active in the game. During the 1950s, one of the England’s brightest young stars, David Sheppard, a Cambridge product, took to the Church at the height of his career. He could not continue playing high-level cricket, but was regarded good enough to tour Australia with the 1962-63 English team. Sheppard, in fact, scored a century in one of the tests but had to undergo some good-natured ribbing from fellow players and the media. When Australia was in a hopeless position in a match, it was suggested the team pray for rain. “It will not work,” joked an English prayer. “We have a professional in our side to look after that angle.”

Christianity is flexible enough for its men in robes to take part in games. Indian cricket stars, Mohinder Amarnath, Chetan Chauhan, Kirti Azad, after their playing days were over, joined the BJP. The last two became MPs and tried to propagate sports in the country. A recent induction to the BJP was the former chairman of selectors, Rajsingh Dungarpur. Yet, there had been no active signs of any religious affinity in Indian sports. Fortunately, we are yet to see the day when an Indian cricketer shouts, “Jai Sri Ram” or “Jai Bajrang Bali” while being interviewed by an expert commentator.

Occasionally, we heard of economic, regional and linguistic differences among members of the Indian team. But so far no religious issues had cropped up. Hindu priests tend to take their religion more seriously. Can they step out of their restricted world, spend time at a gym, become fit enough to wear cricketing flannels or tennis shorts? In continuation of the Lahore bus diplomacy can we expect the day when there will be a cricket match between the Pak mullahs and Indian vadhyars (priests), the venue being Ayodhya or Varanasi?

(The writer is a Mumbai-based satirist and commentator)