March 5, 2017 Gaddafi Stadium was alive again.
Nobody was sure that whether it is here to stay or not, what matters was that it was finally here. As thousands of Pakistanis sang the national anthem in unison the other 180 million Pakistanis quietly prayed that nothing goes wrong. And just like that, it finally happened. Zalmi came to bat and with that simple act of cricket, the spell was broken. The rush of walking through that darkened tunnel of Gaddafi stadium that leads to that blaze of green outfield has returned. After years of exile, it was back with that same infinite passion. People queued hours before the game and the whole country watched every ball; a chance to see your own players, playing in home ground, who could have missed that. The crowd purged its nervous energy by smacking the plastic bottles, shouting themselves hoarse with Dil Dil Pakistan.
Out of nowhere, Pakistan snapped a rabbit out of the hat. Amid all the chaos and fright Pakistan Super League (PSL) woke the nation of the living dead. The people showed that they just weren't ready to give up. Thousands of people marched in that stadium regardless of exhaustion and extreme threat. They expressed their confidence in their country's security. There was a crowd of women, children and men forming a sea of green, singing and dancing to the sound of every ball. It was the moment when the lifeless eyes suddenly show the signs of life, the happiness of a patient's recovery. Signs of hope and survival.
A country had a chance to feel normal once again. A chance to remind itself that it was part of the larger world, that its hopes and dreams also had a right to exist.
This was more than a game of cricket; it was war of nerves between Pakistani state and extremists. Pakistan still has a long way to go. With the country fighting the war against terrorism it is almost ridiculous to imagine another match taking place here in the near future. But this is a step forward in our own clumsy way. Maybe, years from now we will look at the scorecard and question what the fuss was about? Why it meant too much? But it is simple, in Ahmer Naqvi words: “After years, a country had a chance to feel normal once again. A chance to remind itself that it was part of the larger world, that its hopes and dreams also had a right to exist.”
