Sri Lankan’s system is the best in the world, they cover the whole ground. Photo: Getty
Are you going to Sri Lanka to see the rain?
When a cricket fan said this sentence to me at the Karachi airport, for a while I also wondered why I was going. What will happen if Pakistan and India cannot compete? Actually, the plan to go to Sri Lanka had been made long ago, the air ticket and hotel booking had also been done, it was not easy to change the program at the last minute.
In such a situation, he left for the trip praying that the match would not be affected by the weather. If the traditional rivals are in the UAE, there is a rush on the flight a day before, but unfortunately, the Asia Cup is in Sri Lanka. The hype could not be created.
People are talking about the weather more than the performance of the players, the weather reports are being checked instead of the records, there was a little turbulence in the flight but not enough to feel fear, when I reached Colombo, I met Waqar Younis at the airport. He also played an important role in the pride that Pakistan has for its fast bowling today, Waqar Bhai fully supported the young bowlers in coaching, journalists including me criticized him for ignoring the seniors, but now Feels like they were right.
Sri Lanka was one of the few countries where Pakistanis didn’t need a visa, but then some of our compatriots did things that made the visa requirement a few years ago, but online for about $25. Visa is easily obtained within 24 hours, no other document is required except passport copy, as only one flight had landed when we arrived.
Therefore, the immigration process was completed easily in a few minutes, the staff was also well-mannered, the airport is far from the city, until reaching the hotel, I saw that most of the shops etc. were closed, the same was found about the restaurants that they would be closed soon. Yes, you can have dinner in casinos with food courts that are open till late night, after hearing this I decided to settle for chicken sandwich in the hotel, later when I came to know about 2 PCB officials. The video and photos of his presence in the casino are circulating on social media, so I understand that he must have gone for dinner, but maybe the timing was wrong, anyway, we have many people here who are making a mountain of rye.
Therefore, no one should be given a chance. The next morning, when I woke up, I first opened the curtains and saw the situation outside. Seeing the sun, I was satisfied that the match might be held. Sri Lanka is a beautiful country, but the economic situation has changed. It affected him a lot, after the default in the Corona era, inflation still reigns in the country, the currencies of Pakistan and Sri Lanka are almost equal, the dollar is not out at about 312 rupees after completing the triple century.
Used Uber to go to the stadium, the driver said that a few months ago there used to be kilometers long queues to get petrol and the numbers would come after hours, now that is not the case but the price of petrol has doubled in a few years, inflation. has worsened the situation, the salaries are not increasing but the expenses have increased excessively, what should I say to him, I just thought in my heart that the situation is the same for our friend Pakistan.
Well, there were few fans outside the stadium, but the security was extraordinary, I saw small stalls of national flags of Pakistan and India, shirts, etc. Some Pakistanis and Indians were shouting slogans in favor of their teams.
There are various food stalls inside the stadium, but the prices are high like in Pakistan. It is very hot today. You can see it by seeing the sweaty people. Many journalist friends have come from Pakistan and talked to them. Everyone looked desperate for their team to win, one journalist told me he couldn’t understand why the media manager and security officer were sitting in the team dugout wearing what looked like a practice kit.
What is their job? What media conference will be held in the middle of the match or what is the need to sit with the security officer during the match in such a safe environment, make them sit at a distance from the players but the dress code should be separate, the media manager when the match starts Send them to the media center and then at the end they come to hold a press conference.
Their clothes should also be different, by being with the players, sitting in the dugout and watching TV, using other facilities of the team including the gym, such people start to think of themselves as celebrities and forget their real work. replied that this is correct, PCB will have to think in this regard.
I have covered India-Pakistan matches all over the world but I have never seen such a small crowd, maybe the forecast of rain was the reason. , the pitch is also looking easy, maybe Babar Azam won the toss and made a mistake in the fielding decision, it is raining very heavily now.
Sri Lankan’s system is the best in the world, they cover the whole ground, but still it is not easy to prepare the ground quickly due to so much rain, well, the rest will be done tomorrow, I drink tea, from India. The match tee is fantastic as well.
(Note: You can follow me on Twitter @saleemkhaliq)
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