India and Pakistan must resume bilateral cricket, says Zaheer Abbas

Zaheer Abbas and Karsan Ghavri are all smiles after meeting each other at CCI on Friday night.
| Photo Credit: Amol Karhadkar

Zaheer Abbas, the legendary Pakistan batter handed the moniker of “Asian Bradman”, has stressed that India and Pakistan should resume bilateral cricket ties.

“I feel very happy when Asian countries do well. We must play together. India and Pakistan have to play against each other,” Abbas said at a gathering organised by his friend V.K. Tripathi, a retired IRS officer and an Urdu poet, at the prestigious Cricket Club of India.

“Why neutral countries, talk positive, we should play each other in each other’s country. World Cup, Indians came in large number to Pakistan. It is possible again. Matches should happen again, each nation visit each other. I don’t understand why it is not happening. Both countries are neighbours, both love cricket. In my opinion, they should be playing.”

The evening also witnessed Karsan Ghavri, the former India allrounder, and Kenia Jayantilal, the former Test opener, joining to meet their former colleague. Ghavri toured Pakistan in 1978 on a tour that’s famous for Abbas’ heroics and his domination against spin.

With home umpires officiating in international cricket, Test matches of yesteryears are full of tales of umpires being the 12th man for the home team. The septuagenerians had no qualms in narrating famous tales.

“I should not be saying, but when we played in Pakistan, [umpire] Shakoor Rana was so firm that he was more firm than Asif Iqbal and Imran Khan. They said, things will happen in Pakistan the way we desire,” Ghavri said.

“When I got to play in the third Test, Bishan Bedi went inside. Sunil Gavaskar was stand-in captain and gave me the ball. I bowled spin. Mushtaq Mohammed swept me, missed and was hit on the back leg in front of middle stump. Shakoor Rana was beginning to raise his finger and Mushtaq from his sweep position shouted, ‘Khabardaar [Beware]’. Shakoor Rana’s finger quickly went down. In the evening, Mushtaqbhai came to our hotel. Bedi asked him, so much bullying. These kinds of stories are a lot.”

Reminding everyone that Mohammed and Bedi represented “the same county” (Northamptonshire), Abbas narrated a tale. “I was playing in Bangalore. I was given stumped out. (by Kirmani off Dilip Doshi for 40 in 1979-80), I said to myself, it is going to be difficult to be scoring runs here. Both Pakistan and Indian umpires were the same.”

Zaheer Abbas was accompanied by his wife Sameena, who hails from Kanpur. She recalled an incident that summed up Abbas’ popularity. “Once I was driving in Karachi, I jumped the red light. I was pulled over. I was asked to show my driving licence, I didn’t have it. I was asked for an ID card, I didn’t have it. I said sorry and told him I am Zaheer Abbas’ wife. He said, ‘many claim to be Zaheer Abbas’s wife’. I called him and told him to bring the proof that I am your only wife.”