Written by: Muhammad Suhayb
Posted on: April 19, 2023 | 
| 中文
Naya Nazimabad ground
With the Holy Month of Ramadan coming to an end, one would surely miss the cricket filled streets, spread over length and breadth of the country. Mostly played by taped tennis balls, wooden bats and by putting stones in place of wicket, the close encounters would soon become a thing of the past, only resumed on Sundays. The year 2023 was no different, it also witnessed Ramadan Cups and private tournaments being held all around the city. With stadiums over-booked, streets were turned into cricket grounds and even Futsal grounds raised their hourly charges, just because people wanted to play tape-ball matches. Few people are aware that such cricket began from Karachi, where Cricket and Ramadan go back a long-way. When Karachi was a peaceful city, it had a rich cricketing history and an elaborate club scene, where youngsters learned the basics of the game.
Night cricket in North Nazimabad
When manager-cum-players of the team of part-timers like myself were fighting to lower the charges of Futsal grounds, I discovered a book called, ‘Once Upon a time in Nazimabad’, published just last year. A tribute to the olden days of Pakistan cricket, it is written by Muhammad Naukhez Arslan, who has been around for over four decades. A writer we were all familiar with in the 1990s, courtesy of Riaz Mansuri’s ‘The Cricketer’ magazine, Naukhez has recalled all the good things about Pakistan cricket. The local cricket scene is marvelously described in the book, which also validates the opinion that ‘Tape-ball’ and T-20 style of cricket originated from Nazimabad, the first properly planned locality of Karachi. A good tennis ball and an electric tape could be purchased for under 10 rupees, a must-have for cricket enthusiasts living in Karachi. The famous ‘drafting’ of players was also a brainchild of the local cricket scene. The history of Nazimabad is explained in the book which housed many celebrities. Named after the second Prime Minister of the country, Khwaja Nazimuddin, Nazimabad was divided into blocks, with each having its own team, grounds and famous shops. The rich culture of club cricket, shrewdness of administrators, organizing of small-time tournaments and the star power is beautifully described by the scribe, who also happens to have grown up in Nazimabad.
Muhammad Naukhez Arslan, the author
Being an average player, Naukhez was himself a victim of ‘favoritism’ when baray larkay (big boys) were called from other localities to have an edge over their opponents. Even for a person, who is not from Nazimabad, the book transports him to an era when ‘matches from Kerry Packer’s circus were a rage’ at home. The book takes you to the time when the Video Cassette Recorder (VCR) was a rarity at home, and cricket matches were rented out for a minimum of ten rupees a night. Those who could not afford this luxury, would go over to Nazimabad to watch the captivating matches of the Super Cup. People from as far as Malir could be found among the spectators. The Super Cup, which began in Eidgah Ground in the late 70s, was moved to Bakhtiari Youth Centre simply to accommodate the growing numbers of spectators. The local games had its own Richards and Cowdrey, while Nadeem Musa and Fareed Bawla were legends in the matches. Many still remember the match when Naeem Ahmed thrashed Bawla and nearly brought his team home, something Iftikhar Ahmed repeated in the just concluded T20I match against New Zealand. Up and coming Sajid Ali also hit test fast-bowler Jalaluddin for boundaries, until he was bounced out by the man who took the first hat-trick in ODI cricket.
Bakhtiari Youth Centre
Naukhez revisits the events, when T20 was a dream, and One-day cricket was trying to fit in the cricket calendar. A witness to most of the Test matches played in the National Stadium, he has seen them all. Be it the 1973 Test, when three players were dismissed at 99, or Majid Khan’s century before lunch, Imran’s magic spell against India in 1982 or Miandad’s debut, Naukhez describes them all. The 1970s introduced ‘listeners of the game’ to visuals of the match. People could actually watch the matches via Satellite as the decade replaced transistors with television sets. Naukhez recollects the 1974 tour of England, when Pakistan emerged as invincible. In the season of 1976/77, they became world-beaters and during the subsequent tours to England, many emerging players had their roots in Nazimabad.
Local cricket in the 1970s
Comprising 35 chapters, the book has special chapters for Asif Iqbal, Majid Khan, Zaheer Abbas, Wasim Raja and even Misbah-ul-Haq, considered an heir to Abdul Hafeez Kardar and Imran Khan. Sarafraz Nawaz's heroics, Imran Khan's spell and Mudassar Nazar's wonderful display of medium pace, are also part of the book. The book also separate chapters on of all-time test, ODI and T-20 teams for Pakistan.
For someone who had been a regular visitor to a stadium, Naukhez was overcome by nostalgia when he entered the National Stadium for a Test match in Dec 2019. Cricket was being resumed after a hiatus of ten years in the country, and the writer’s emotion is palpable in his writing.
He also pays tribute to Gul Hameed Bhatti, (many know him as Mateen sahab from TV serial Nadan Nadia), and how he influenced and inspired many writers on cricket. Naukhez also mentions unsung heroes like Ishaq Patel, who is credited for having introduced Inzamam-ul-Haq and Waqar Younis to club cricket. I happened to have met Ishaq Sahab at his home in Nazimabad in 2019, when he recalled that Inzi used to stay in this very room that we were sitting in. Due to his laidback attitude, he mostly missed sehri during Ramadan, but was hungry for runs on the cricket field.
Cricket ground in Saling, Gilgit Baltistan
If you have ever played cricket in Nazimabad, Karachi, you would have memories of Annu Bhai Park, Café Al Hassan, Asghar Ali Shah Stadium and Shahid Sports. The author also traveled North and was surprised to see a proper stadium in Saling, Gilgit Baltistan. The last few pages of the book mention the names of ‘clubs’ which functioned in Nazimabad, and it would come as surprise how many of the national players hailed from that locality of Karachi.
To sum it up, this book is both informative and a delightful read, and a must for all those interested in cricket.
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