HERO TO THE UNTHANKFULS

He was a hero.

March 21, 1992. Auckland

He wrote the lyrics for the songs of their glory. He breezed through the obstacles and stroked his way to victory; he even made the word “victory” sound easy. 60 runs off 37 balls is a mere statistic; but having the guts and courage to fight the odds and lift the curse of Pakistan never winning a World Cup semi final is a page of history written by the gentle giant; the man they call Inzamam ul Haq.

In the days that fell afterwards, they sang the songs he wrote, they danced on the tunes he composed with his bat, they rested in comfort for he was yet to come to bat, they trusted their heartfelt wishes of victory for he was still on the crease, they screamed with joy for he had won it for them once again.

His calmness was his trait and his humbleness a habit. Others would bat well on their day, but he would bat with utmost ease and passion of a cornered tiger whenever he wanted to; whenever he was in his mood. He could and did make many bowlers seem as ineffective as a door of sand standing in the way of a hurricane. His fifties, his hundreds, would, more than often, mean that Pakistan would not lose the match. He stood their with his subtle presence, even sometimes unnoticed, stealing the moments and incentives from the opponents, playing a better mind game and walking away with pride, as a winner.

For 15 years, he was a hero.

March 21, 2007. Jamaica

They wrote the slogans of hatred for him; they rose in anger and disrespect, they burnt his posters and dented his persona with words of wrath. One match, one defeat, one ousting stood between them and him. A thick fog of disgust and fury rolled in. They forgot; he was the hero.They blamed him for being emotionless on the field, for being a passive captain, for being stubborn in his team selection, and above all they started questioning his performance as a batsman and ultimately objecting to his presence in the team. They did not have the patience nor the moral courage to let him go with glory he earned and honor he deserved.  They had their reasons, their logics, their arguments to prove he was the guilty; that a patriot had turned into a traitor. He had only one reason to prove them wrong; his passion to play cricket.

His passion still alive, he stepped in the field for one last time in an ODI, to rekindle the magic he once had so skillfully woven, on the same day, a decade and a half ago; to relive those moments of purified willingness to achieve greatness, to bring back the memories into their minds of the strokes that brought them their most prized glory. But pain had taken over his will, a flame flickered hard before it went off; 37 runs on his last outing and Jamaica bid farewell to a traitor.

They let him go.

They forgot … he is a hero.

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Inzama ul Haq, unarguably Pakistan’s greatest One Day batsman, retired from this form of cricket on March 21, 2007.
 

~ by Amir Saleem on March 22, 2007.