The most famous Pakistani cricket fan, Abdul Jalil — also known as Chacha Cricket — has announced that he will retire from watching cricket from the stands this year.
Jalil was 19 or thereabouts when for the first time he saw Pakistan in action from the stands against England in Lahore in 1968-69. He has since gone from strength to strength and travelled all over the world with the Pakistani team.
The three-ODI series against Australia that kicks off on Saturday at Rawalpindi and culminates in Lahore on June 4 will be Chacha Cricket’s last appearance at home. The Pakistani team will tour England later this year for a Test series, and Jalil wants to go there for one last time and buck up his players, but as far as home matches are concerned, he is done with them now.
He wants to open a restaurant and a cricket museum on the outskirts of Sialkot. “I will display all the memorabilia I have gathered over the years at the museum,” he told ESPNcricinfo.
“I had the target of cheering for Pakistan in 500 matches, which I have achieved.
“I have done everything for the sheer love of the game and my country. My mission has been to be a great ambassador of the country and make fans across the aisles happy. I am now also looking to do some welfare work after my retirement.”
Some good and some bad memories from India-Pakistan matches
Jalil has seen Pakistan lose quite a few matches to India in the last few years, and that has been the only downside to his cricket-watching journey from the stands. He reminisces about some good and some bad memories from India-Pakistan matches over the years.
“I witnessed Pakistan’s three consecutive defeats to India [in the Asia Cup last year]. We have now lost nine in a row to India. I did not want them to lose another match after the Asia Cup,” he said.
“I was on the ground when Javed Miandad hit Chetan Sharma for a six on the last ball [in 1986 at Sharjah]. I vividly remember Miandad hitting him over deep midwicket. The other memorable match for me was when we beat India at The Oval [in the final of the Champions Trophy] in 2017.
“They could not chase 120 against India at New York [at the 2024 T20 World Cup]. I had travelled a great distance to support the team.”
Jalil was also at the 2011 World Cup semifinal at Mohali. “I took a painstaking journey for that game. I travelled from Sri Lanka to Karachi to Sialkot and then crossed into India. We could have won that match, but mistakes happen. Wins and losses are part of the game,” he said.
Cricket and cricketers are nothing without fans, and the presence of Chacha Cricket at matches has only enriched the game. He will surely be missed, not just by Pakistan cricket but also by the rest of the cricket world.
