As Kolkata is all geared up to host an electrifying encounter between the arch rivals India and Pakistan in the Super 10 of ICC World T20, Pakistan's ‘cricket chachas’ Abdul Jalil and Muhammad Zaman are set to miss out on the highly anticipated fixture.
The two Pakistani cricket aficionados will be missing out on the entire ICC World T20 tournament due to unfortunate visa complications. The duo is famous throughout the cricketing world thanks to their distinguishable facial hair and illustrious wardrobe.
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The couple has spent decades supporting their beloved Pakistani cricket team wearing conventional green salwar kameez and fluttering the Pakistani flag.
Abdul Jalil, who is more famously known as ‘Cricket Chacha’ has been financed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to tread on the heels of the Pakistan cricket team around the world since 1998, on an allowance of 26,000 Pakistani rupees ($260).
But unfortunately, he was unsuccessful to obtain the support of PCB for a visa which would have enabled him to travel with his nation's cricket side in India.
In an interview given to AFP, Chacha told the reporters, “This will be the first time since 1998 that I will miss a Pakistan-India cricket match in a stadium. I feel sad about it. The board stopped sponsoring my travel five years back and they also suspended my monthly stipend three months before.”
“Despite that, I had been managing to tour with the team on my own, but this time, I failed to even get official support to obtain a visa. I want to go there and generate support for the Pakistani team among the crowds, to wave my green Pakistani flag in India. I cheer up the crowds and lead them by chanting slogans in my trademark style. I think fans will miss it as I am myself missing it,” he added.
Muhammad Zaman, more famously dubbed as ‘Chacha T20’, has made a name for himself thanks to his long black mustache and big white turban will also he missing out on the entire tournament due to visa complexity.
“This is the first time since the mid-1980s that I will miss the watching the game on the ground because the Pakistan Cricket Board did not support me (for a visa). It was not possible for me because I am not computer literate, I wrote to the PCB chairman but could not get help,” he told AFP.
Zaman quit his driving job in 2012 after his company did not allow him a leave to watch the Asia Cup.
“It was not possible for me because I am not computer literate, I wrote to the PCB chairman but could not get help,” he added.
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