The Indian Premier League (IPL) has caught the imagination of Pakistanis. Go to any café on the trendy M.M. Alam Road in central Lahore, you will find young upwardly mobile Lahoris engaged in cricket natter -- around the fortunes of 'bad boy' Shoaib Akhtar, the glamour of Bollywood stars like Shah Rukh Khan who are sponsoring some of the teams, and the "connecting" power of cricket between the two neighbours.
At Café Zoo, a trendy hangout for the young, Zareen Chaudhry, a 20-something art student and painter, sips coffee, tucks into delicious kebabs and is seemingly talking to her boyfriend. But her eyes are glued to Shoaib Akhtar playing for the Kolkata Knight Rider team.
"I love cricket and I love films. It's a perfect combination for an evening out these days," Zareen tells a visiting IANS correspondent as she recalls the magical debut of Shoaib in IPL last week when he demolished the Delhi Daredevils top order in the three-over opening spell, scripting a spectacular win for his team.
The win triggered jubilation across the streets of Lahore, especially since Shoaib's participation in IPL was under cloud because of his running battles with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
But it's not just when five Pakistani cricketers are playing in IPL matches that Pakistanis are watching IPL matches. They are equally enamoured of Indian cricketing legends like Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly.
"Cricket cuts across boundaries. The IPL has brought the world's top cricketers together," says a lawyer and cricket fanatic who identified himself as Iqbal.
What makes IPL genre of cricket tick in Pakistan?
"Cricket is a passion we share with Indians. The IPL matches are wildly popular here because it's first-rate cricket and first-rate entertainment," says Khurram Khan, a 30-something executive at Pepsi company.
Khan has just returned from a business trip to India and is full of talk about cricket diplomacy and connecting people through sports, business and cultural exchanges.
Inayat Khan, manager of Ziafat restaurant, specializing in Oriental cuisine, told IANS: "Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta are big names here. Glamour helps and surely sells. Shohaib Akhtar in the Kolkata match was a smashing hit."
The IPL cricket is not just an entertaining distraction when many Pakistanis are reeling under rising prices and a general sense of insecurity. For some, IPL is serious business as well.
Shahnawaz Hussain, a businessman, says rich Lahoris are gambling big time on IPL matches. "Betting is big time and there is a lot of money to be made."
Cricket has done what political leaderships of the two countries are still struggling to achieve - making borders irrelevant through free travel, trade and people-to-people contacts.
"Everybody loves cricket, watches cricket, plays cricket," chimes in Waseem Ibrahim, a manager at the posh Hotel Avari. "Cricket is a great connector."
Indo-Asian News Service
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