'Chacha' T20: Ready to bat for Pakistan against England in UAE

Be it a sports match, big social gathering or any other major event, there are always few faces which stand out.

In the world of cricket, Pakistan’s 'Chacha Cricket' and 'Chacha T20' are the two easily recognisable faces in a crowd of thousands.

We spotted Muhammad Zaman, popularly known as Chacha T20, at Sharjah Airport was rushing towards his car to escape people flocking to shake hiss hand.

We grabbed him for a few minutes to share his thoughts on the eve of the Pakistan-England cricket series in the UAE.

Chacha T20 had landed in the UAE to bat for the Pakistani team.

“I have come for the England series; I believe it’s going to be good one – both the teams are balanced and we’ll get to see good matches,” believes Chacha T20.

Pakistan shall be playing home series against England in the UAE which involves three Tests, four ODIs and three T20s at the three venues of Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah during the 50-day tour.

Chacha believes that exclusion of spin ace Saeed Ajmal against England is – to large extent – justified for his revised bowling action has probably made him less lethal for the opposition.

“Though, it’s sad that one of our heroes is sitting on the benches but team selectors know it better [to include/exclude Ajmal in squad]; then the other thing is the age of the cricketer; Plus his changed bowling action has also made him less lethal,” opines the cheerleader.

In a major setback for the Green Shirts, Pakistan lost leg spinner Yasir Shah due to back spasm a day ahead of the first Test in Abu Dhabi’s Zayed Cricket Stadium. Shah grabbed 24 wickets in Pakistan's 2-1 win in the Tests in Sri Lanka in July 2015 and was seen as the dangerman for the English team, who were routed 3-0 by spinners Saeed Ajmal and Abdul Rehman in UAE three years ago.

A humble and down-to-earth person, Muhammad Zaman believes in his own self rather than asking the government or the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to sponsor his tours with the Green Shirts around the world.

“Neither PCB nor government sponsors me; I’m fine if PCB believes that I deserve it [sponsorship]; but I’ll personally not request them to do so. I met Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif twice, but never asked for any favour.”

The soft-spoken Zaman is very close to all the junior and senior team players. He rejected the prevalent general impression about Bang Bang Shahid Afridi’s attitude problem with players and others.

“All [players] are my children; they are very friendly with me. Others say that Shahid Afridi is arrogant but I found him a gentleman – he has been always nice to me.”

Since his arrival in the UAE nearly 22 years ago, Zaman quit his job twice for his first love – cricket – because employers rejected this cricket aficionado’s plea for leave to go to watch the matches.

Professionally, Zaman started as a sweet-maker and later worked as a driver in the UAE. He is again scouting for a job in the UAE.

Zaman himself plays cricket time and again for fun. During the recent tour of Pakistan to Sri Lanka, Zaman was shown on the television casually playing cricket with the Sri Lankan cheerleader Percy Abeysekera.

Father of a young rising star on the cricket horizon of Pakistan, Chacha T20 pins high hopes on his son Umar Zaman who is currently playing at the district level in Pakistan’s domestic league matches.

“My son Umar Zaman is a wicketkeeper batsman, playing Under 19 from Hafizabad district.

"He’s the talent to grow professionally as a good cricketer. I told my son that I’ll not push for undue favour. If he has the talent and potential I can request higher-ups to test your skills; if he passes the test, well and good [but he’ll not back him despite being weak professionally].

"Umar has just played three matches during district championship. In the first two matches, he scored 97 and 44 – respectively – but didn’t get a chance to bat in the third as his team won the match [before he could get a chance to bat].

"He took six scalps also behind the wicket. So I think he’s the talent that’s why he is performing well at the domestic level,” says Zaman confidently.
 

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