Normally in cricket, when a team has won the series with a match or two still remaining, fans hardly pay any heed to the dead rubber. Not when India play Pakistan, though. Each time the two sides lock horns on a cricket field, the infectious enthusiasm raises the level of the game. Thus, we all were surprised when Mr Miandad cancelled his trip to India amidst a lot of controversy. While the media reported the ‘D’ connection, we bring before you the real story why the Pakistan legend cancelled his trip!
Dilli ki sardi!
The media has been consistently reporting how the mercury has been dipping on a regular basis in the national capital. The temperature plunged to 1.9 degrees Celsius on January 06, making it the coldest day of the season in Delhi so far. Our sources have revealed that Miandad had knowledge of this and had made a call to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), who informed him about the freezing cold.
The hotel where he was supp
osed to stay, further informed him that the room which was allotted to him, had no geyser. Also, they told him how people had been freezing in the national capital of late. Had it been a T20I, he could have managed to stay for 4 hours in the audience amid the warmth of the Indian fans and officials, but an 8-hour match was too much for him to bear.
Tendulkar’s absence
Not only the Indian fans, but even Miandad knew that travelling all the way to watch a match in India, against a team which has no Tendulkar, is of no use! When Tendulkar completed 100 tons, Miandad in a column for DNA wrote, “Ever since I saw Sachin make his debut against us, some 23 years back, I knew that he was someone destined for greater things. I have never seen anyone so devoted to the game and so hungry to score runs. So this incredible feat could have only been achieved by Sachin.”
We wonder if Miandad would have rather preferred to visit Mumbai and watch Tendulkar play in the Ranji Trophy. And as we all know, the weather in Mumbai is moderate as well!
The cricket fraternity has been demanding Tendulkar come out of his retirement and Miandad very well knew that the atmosphere of the stadium wouldn’t be the same without the Little Master!
P.S.
This is a fictional article and is written in good faith.
First Published: Sunday, January 6, 2013, 20:11
(The views expressed by the author are personal)
