New Delhi: Pakistanis are in for a rude shock after the USA defeated Pakistan in the T20 World Cup league match that went into the Super Over. Heartbroken cricket fans in Pakistan have now likened the team’s devastating loss to an ‘Amreeki sazish’. An American conspiracy.
From celebrities to podcasters, everyone took solace in creating what Pakistan reigns supreme—memes.
“Chill karna hai guys! Amerika har gya tou qarza wapis na mang le is liye hum haar Gaye!” (They lost so IMF doesn’t take the loan back) One user commented on Instagram.
An X user shared a picture of Asim Munir with the caption, Khel wo rahe script hamari hai (The boys are playing the game but I made the script).
Pakistani TV veteran Anwar Maqsood also said in a video that the Babar Azam-led team lost deliberately. “America ki shart hogi IMF ke funds ke liye.” (It maybe IMF’s demand)
Podcaster, The Pakistan Experience tweeted: “Story of the last 75 years: USA beats Pakistan” to which another commented, “Waiting for Babar to unravel Amreeeki Cipher and how the diplomats teamed up with Shaheen and Aamir to ensure Pakistan loses it.”
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PCB or Army’s PR
Pakistanis found faults everywhere, but their players’ performance. When cricket commentator Ramiz Raja questioned on why batter Fakhar Zaman did not take the first strike in the super over against a left-arm bowler, one user responded, “They could envision themselves in a death cell 20 years down the road. Better to lose now than suffer later!”
Even Pakistan’s Army has been pulled into the match analysis.
“This is what happens when the Pakistan Army delves into cricket, a sport it doesn’t play as an institution. And this is what happens when the Pakistan Cricket Board—ostensibly the country’s most popular institution—is run by sycophant,” Wajahat S. Khan, a Pakistani security analyst wrote on X.
After PCB wrote a match report stating what happened after the team was “put to batting on a tricky surface… on a wicket that turned into batting paradise”, one cricket fan account asked if the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the PR wing of Pakistan Armed Forces, was writing PCB’s reports.
One user tweeted a picture of PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi and wrote, “This is how you promote cricket in USA.”
If that was not enough, Pakistanis soon found another culprit: the H1B visa.
Five cricketers of South Asian origin, two Pakistani-Americans, and three from Britain featured in the top 11 of the USA’s cricket team.
“Pakistani Americans stun Pakistani Pakistanis,” one X user wrote.
Actor Shahnawaz Khaqan made a reel calling the USA team– India B players.
“After all they are Indian NRIs,” he said.
While memes went viral, a few shared serious concerns. Ex-cricketer Shoaib Akhtar said that Pakistan never really deserved this defeat and he was “hurt and disappointed”.
Politician Ammar Ali Jan called for accountability, after the team’s ‘terrible’ performance.
“It’s particularly infuriating when one realizes how much funds and media attention is given to this team as compared to other sports/athletes. Accountability of the team and PCB is necessary if we are to prevent waste and disappointment,” he said.
Divided by cricket, united by memes
In all of this, X users had a field day.
Americans were surprised that the US even had a cricket team, Pakistanis were mulling over what went wrong and Indians could not stop celebrating the fact that it was an Indian-origin software engineer who led to the US team’s victory. It was Indian American fast bowler Saurabh Netravalkar who was being credited for Pakistan’s defeat.
Everyone had an opinion. Even Bangladeshis joined in.
One Bangladeshi user tweeted a meme of a Pakistani supporter hiding behind a burkha after the loss.
Pakistan faces India next on 9 June for qualifiers.