Pakistan cricket fans are losing interest in the ICC Champions Trophy, a big international cricket tournament. Their team got knocked out early, and now Ramadan—a special month when Muslims fast during the day—has started. This has made fans less excited to watch the games.
On Saturday, only a few thousand people showed up at the National Stadium in Karachi to watch England play South Africa. Normally, cricket stadiums in Pakistan get packed, but not this time. Security workers, like police and guards, were happy because their tough job was almost done. Over 7,000 security people, including police, rangers, and even some soldiers, had been working hard since the tournament began on February 19 in Karachi.
“It has been a hard and tense last two weeks for us so we are hugely relieved now. It was also relatively peaceful in the England match,” said SSP Imran Jamil, a police officer at the stadium. He meant that keeping everyone safe was stressful, but things calmed down since Pakistan was out.
The security planning started even before the tournament, which included teams from Pakistan, New Zealand, and South Africa playing in Lahore and Karachi. “Now the security personnel can get back to normal duties in Ramadan,” Jamil added. This means they won’t have to guard the stadium anymore and can do their regular jobs.
Two sisters, Fariha and Faiza, came to the Saturday game with friends from college. They said, “Without Pakistan in contention the Champions Trophy was over for them.” Faiza explained, “We came today because we had already purchased tickets for the match.” They weren’t excited anymore since Pakistan wasn’t playing.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the group that runs cricket in Pakistan, said they’ll give full refunds to fans who bought tickets for two matches in Rawalpindi that got canceled because of rain. But people who paid extra for fancy seats or special views won’t get their money back. Three games in the tournament were ruined by rain, including one between Afghanistan and Australia in Lahore.
Mahmood Riaz, a cricket writer, said, “We were hosting a big ICC event after so many years and people were excited but the team really let everyone down.” Pakistan didn’t play well, and that disappointed fans. Tauseef Siddiqui, a 65-year-old fan who always goes to games at the National Stadium, agreed. “Watching Pakistan lose twice to New Zealand in the tri-series final and on 19th March was a huge disappointment for us,” he said. He spent about 60,000 Pakistani rupees (their money) on tickets for himself and a friend.
Ramadan started on Sunday, and experts think it’ll be hard to get big crowds now. A PCB official explained, “Generally people stay at home and attend Taraweeh prayers after breaking fast in the first two weeks of Ramadan and they only start going out after Iftaar, after the first 15-20 days of the holy month.” Taraweeh prayers happen at night during Ramadan, and Iftaar is the meal that breaks the fast each evening. People are busy with these things early in Ramadan, so they’re not likely to go to cricket matches.
The PCB is trying to help by planning free Iftaar boxes—meals to break the fast—for fans at the semi-final game in Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium. They got this idea from the Emirates cricket board, which did the same in Dubai. But the PCB official worried, “It would be a bummer if there are no sizeable crowds for the semi-final. Not a good advertisement for Pakistan cricket.” He meant it’d look bad for Pakistan if the stadium stays empty.
In short, Pakistan’s early exit, rain delays, and Ramadan have made fans lose interest in the Champions Trophy, leaving the tournament quieter than expected.
