Good begets good

Pakistan cricket team has been facing rough weather ever since its rather embarrassing loss to India in a World Cup tie. The matter has reached such a flash point that it has become very personal. First it was war of words between Sania Mirza and Pakistani star Veena Malik on Twitter on the match eve celebration that Sania joined with Shoaib and his team mates. This late night party has been treated by the fans as a cause of the team’s laziness on the field against supremely fit Indian outfit. And yesterday trolling by a Pakistani at London’s mall where skipper Sarfaraz was shopping with his baby son in his lap, seemed to have crossed all barriers of decency. The guy called Sarfaraz names though Sarfaraz exhibited restraint and grace in ignoring this ignominious gesture.

This united the cricket fraternity and all right minded people, who, overcoming bitter rivalry and national boundaries, expressed solidarity with Sarfaraz and panned his troller for a very inconsiderate act. Sarfaraz has been lately leading an inexperienced and at times disjointed Pakistani team with great maturity and the team has slowly started its journey on the path of brilliance that Pakistani teams of the yore were known for. Pakistan has recorded some significant victories under his leadership and notwithstanding rather below par performance in the current World Cup, the future of the team seems bright.

The aforesaid incident also shook me and I also felt bad and twitted in support of Sarfaraz. I especially felt awful as Sarfaraz was trying to mind his very adorable young guy who seemed to be feeling cranky. And this guy comes from nowhere to use derogatory language against a National icon. While World Cup is an important event and India an important rival to conquer, no one should stoop so low to react on the outcome and that too of a game. This tweet of mine has received lots of love and support, including from twitter accounts from across the border. While hawks on either side of the border indulge in mongering that invites hawkish reactions, message of peace, appreciation and love invites messages filled with peace and love. There goes an old saying “Good begets good” and while we may have serious ideological differences with Pakistan, at some level everything should not be made personal.