Hearts of millions of fans will be leaping when the two archrivals of the cricket world face each other at the end of this month. The special thing this time around is that besides thousands of spectators at stadiums, the matches between Pakistan and India will also be watched by a selected group of former historic Pakistani cricketers.
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Eight Pakistani legends will leave for India on this occasion, including Mushtaq Mohammad and Sadiq Mohammad (Photo: EMPICS)[/caption]The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided to send a 10-member delegation of legendary former Pakistani cricketers to witness the resumption of cricketing relations between the two countries.
For that, Hanif Mohammad, Imran Khan, Wasim Bari, Mushtaq Mohammad, Sadiq Mohammad, Imtiaz Ahmad, Majid Khan, Zaheer Abbas, Javed Burki and Intikhab Alam have been invited by the PCB’s Executive Coordination Committee (ECC).
Imran Khan has declined to join the delegation because of his political commitments. Majid Khan will also be unavailable for reasons best known to the PCB. However, the remaining eight will witness the historic moments on the Indian soil.
The youngest of the famous Mohammad brothers, Sadiq Mohammad, is one of the selected few and is proud to be part of the delegation.
In an exclusive interview with PakPassion.net, Sadiq expressed his happiness to be named in the list of legends and said he felt honoured to be given a role as a representative of the national team at a time when Pakistan and India are renewing their cricket terms after five years.
He thanked PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf for giving the chance to former players. “This shows that the board hasn’t forgotten us. The move has opened up a window for us to meet our Indian friends who, like us, rendered their services to their national team.”
It used to be an exhilarating experience for spectators to watch Sadiq Mohammad open Pakistan’s innings with Majid Khan, who would face world’s fastest bowlers without helmets. Sadiq played 41 Tests during his career and maintained an average of 35.81.
During the interview, he reminisced about the innings he played against India, especially his 46-run knock in Madras Test. He also paid tribute to his contemporary Indian cricketers, saying he held Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and Bishan Singh Bedi in high esteem.
He said he hoped that the upcoming series would prove to be a breakthrough in strengthening cricketing ties between Pakistan and India and helping both countries to continue playing against each other in future. Sadiq said both countries should set aside their political differences and suggested that both teams could play at a neutral venue, especially England.
“England would make the best neutral venue if Pakistan and India have to play at a neutral venue because there are many Pakistani and Indian expatriates in the country and series would be a success there.”
As for the UAE, Sadiq said he did not think people there would take interest in Test series. However, ODI could still gather load of fans in stadiums, he said.
Pakistan and India will start their limited-overs series on December 25 from a Twenty20 in Bangalore. Both teams will further play a T20 and three one-dayers till January 6.
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