Cricket and our past
I'm a big fan of Pakistan cricket team and therefore when Pakistan met their old rival India here in Dhaka, I didn't want to miss the opportunity to watch the match at Mirpur Stadium.
So I went to the stadium with lots of excitement. Like me, there were thousands of supporters of the Pakistan cricket team on the stadium who cheered the fall of each Indian wicket. There were quite a large number of Indian supporters there as well and they also cheered for their team. But I lost my excitement when someone at the gallery told me that I should not cheer for Pakistan cricket team since they are responsible for the genocide in Bangladesh in 1971. He went on to say that we should not forget the past and so we should not forgive Pakistan as a nation as well. I understand his feelings and emotions.
What the Pakistan army did during our glorious war of liberation is really unpardonable. We will never forgive them for their crimes against humanity. But I don't understand whether it has anything to do with the Pakistan cricket team. I'm a big fan of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shahid Afridi, Saeed Anwar because they are regarded as the biggest entertainers of world cricket. They belong to the Pakistan team, but that doesn't mean that we should not support them and their performances.
Cricket has no religion and no nation. I just love the Pakistan cricket team and their performance. The way they play is really something which thrills me. That's the reason why I support this unpredictable team from my childhood and will continue to do so, no matter what others say. I believe mixing cricket with our past is absolutely illogical and the people who think this way should change their mentality.
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