Young Pakistan college cricketers can find no negative in India

The Pakistan squad for the Red Bull Campus Cricket Finals 2015 (Image Courtesy: redbull.com)

The talks between Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Shahryar Khan and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Shashank Manohar were cancelled due to Shiv Sena protests in Mumbai.

This would most likely have aggravated the relationship between India and Pakistan, but few young cricketers from Karachi feel otherwise and are enjoying their stay in India and according to them they even feel at home. The cricketers are part of one of the eight teams for the Red Bull Campus Cricket World Finals in Dehradun.

According to a report on PTI, students from Jinnah Degree College are delighted with the stay they have had in the Doon Valley since October 19. The team including 11 cricketers based in Karachi are led by Faizan Khan, a List A cricketer. The captain seemed quite thrilled with all the facilities provided.

“It has almost been a week since we came. What do I say, we feel very welcome here. It feels even better and safer than back home. It is just like home. I would say the treatment is even better than home,” Faizan said.

Faizan was of the opinion that, despite what happened in Mumbai earlier this week, neither his players nor he felt any sort of animosity in the one week they have been in India. Pakistan umpire Aleem Dar had to return home due to the protests and commentators Shoaib Akhtar and Wasim Akram have had to opt out of commentating in the final ODI between India and South Africa in Mumbai.

“We heard about what happened in Mumbai and the PCB chief (Shahryar Khan) had to go back home without talking to BCCI officials. But honestly, we have not been able to find a single negative here. The only thing we would have wished for was to win more games in the tournament,” Faizan said.

Faizan plays for the Southern Gas Corporation back home in Pakistan. His squad has only 11 players, with no extra players to rotate during the tournament. His team has lost all of the three games they have played in the competition so far.

“We are only 11 guys here. We have a manager who is an Indian. Some of our main players could not get the visa, so we just came with whatever we had. I have injured my leg but I have to take the field,” he said.

Being a wicketkeeper-batsman, Faizan is a huge fan of Indian captain MS Dhoni and considers Dhoni as his role model.

“It is just because he comes across as a good personality and a great batsman. It is my dream to meet him. I don't wish to meet any international cricketer but Dhoni,” Faizan said.