Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad   

Double delight for cricket fans

-PHOTO: K. RAMESH BABU

Different strokes: Players of Indian Cricket League at Prasad’s Imax on Saturday.

HYDERABAD: For an average cricket fan in the street, it matters little when they come across international cricketers – be it from Indian Cricket League, a parallel set-up to the official BCCI, or India’s very own big guns like Sachin Tendulkar or Saurav Ganguly. For, the craze to get autographs or pose for a few photographs with their mobile-phone cameras when they had a chance encounter with some of the Pakistan big names like Abdur Razzak, Azhar Mehmood and coach Moin Khan stands proof of this.

“We are delighted to see them here,” says one of the youngsters.

That these cricketers hogged the limelight despite the on-going 15th International Children’s Film Festival is another revealing factor that what is more important for the cricket-crazy fans is the very sight of the big names of international cricket. It was a pleasant surprise to all those cine-goers at the theatre.

And to the delight of those who veered around these cricketers, the ambience was near-perfect.

The usual high security cover normally thrown around Indian cricketers or for that matter, any visiting cricket teams (official teams please) was conspicuous by its absence. A feature which made the Hyderabadis who assembled at the venue clearly enjoyed the rare opportunity.

Like many of those who love to watch the Hindi movies, it was at the request of Abdur Razaak that the organisers of this promotional campaign of the Indian Cricket League, who arranged tickets for the Pakistanis to watch the movie ‘Om Shanti Om’.

While most of the other foreign cricketers made a quiet exit from the venue back to the Lahari Resorts where they are put up for the on-going camp, Razzak and his former team-mates seemed to have enjoyed the show.

Perhaps, these cricketers are looking for some peace and tranquillity (shanthi) after the turbulence with Board if their preference of the movie starring Shahrukh Khan is any indication.

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