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Every time there’s a cricket match at Gaddafi Stadium, the Liberty Chowk is filled with fans excited. It’s packed with activity like fans waiting in lines next team flags and chattering non stop. From a distance, you can see the flags’ colors bouncing off each other.
Wednesday however was quite different.
While there may be a handful of flags of South Africa and New Zealand rooting up for sale, they seem to not gain much traction. With Pakistan pulled out of the tournament, the hype as well as the crowd is lesser than moderate. The energy is simply dull.
While making one the security checks, one elderly gentleman passed by and seemed to be inquisitive about something. “Aaj kaun si match hai?” He asked with a hint of a smile, “Pakistan toh bahir ho gaya, ab kya khelna!” (What match is it today? Pakistan has left the tournament, why bother watching the match?)
Having that conversation, there was a very general feeling in the atmosphere. It truly did not seem like a champions trophy semi-final was underway. Even though a national event was being hosted after three long decades, there was still a noticeable sense of disappointment with a large portion of Gaddafi Stadium still unfilled during the epic clash between South Africa, Rachin Ravindra, and Kane Williamson.
Even though people may have assumed that due to fasting hours there could be a possibility of people staying away during that time, it seemed like the enthusiasm was missing for the spectators to show up. “With India refusing to travel here, does it even matter if Pakistan isn’t buzzing? One of the big wigs from the ICC had mentioned.
“Says Yasser, a college student who came to check out Kane Williamson bat, “If Pakistan was there, the atmosphere would have been different. Now it’s just two foreign countries competing. On a positive note, it’s always great to see him in person, but admittedly, I would have enjoyed it more had Pakistan reached the semifinals.”“Just the other day, Agha Salman, the newly appointed T20I captain of Pakistan, was seen mourning the loss of not being able to play the semifinal in front of the home crowd. Another look at the VIP boxes showed that feeling was extremely common.A member of the audience was spotted putting the eternal question to former Pakistan international, now commentator, Bazid Khan, as to what the side ought to do to improve their performances in global events. Bazid responded in his customary manner.“From the start of this tournament, all the cricket supporters in this region were expecting a twenty-four hours carnival, but so far all they have received is disappointment,” said one of the disappointed followers.
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