The batsman stands before the wicket and taps the earth in front of him twice with his bat. All around him, fielders, their faces resolute and sombre, are spread out in concentric circles. Chattering spectators line the side of the pitch. As the batsman looks ahead, the bowler starts running towards him, swinging his arm to deliver the ball. But just as he is about to release it, a tiny Suzuki Alto car carrying a family of seven zips through the pitch. The players groan in unison as the traffic stops play.
This is a usual scene in Pakistan’s teeming port city of Karachi: in the holy month of Ramadan the devout fast by day but at night, they come out on the streets to play cricket.
Halogen bulbs are tied to coat hangers and hung up on trees and power cables to provide extra lighting on dimly lit streets. Bricks are used to mark where the pitch begins and ends and crates of Coca Cola are stacked one on top of the other to form the wicket. One boy has already collected tiny donations, a dollar or less, from kids and adults in the street who want to participate in this year’s tournament. The rules of the game, too, are adapted for the street and the players are all locals to the area, arriving in shorts and tee-shirts and flip flops to play a game that will tide them over through the night until sehri, the pre-dawn meal eaten just before sunrise. After that, Muslims fast throughout the day, abstaining from food and drink, until sunset when an iftar meal is served. After tarawih, or late night prayers, the kids come out to play once more.
Here, Arab News takes you on a journey through the streets of Karachi that come alive with the sights and sounds of night cricket matches.
A boy hits the ball as fielders and spectators stand in anticipation in Karachi’s Denso Hall area on May 16, 2019. The commercial and highly congested street is a traffic mess during the daytime. “There are no grounds around so these night matches during Ramadan give us an opportunity to play our cricket,” Asad Rehan, a local of the area, told Arab News. “Otherwise, we can play just on Sunday for the rest of the year. In Ramadan, it’s our month.” (AN Photo by Shakil Adil)
A boy plays a shot in a blue shalwar kameez suit and a traditional white skullcap in the old city Light House area of Karachi on May 16, 2019. During these night cricket games in Ramadan, there is no expectation to wear uniforms or abide by strict rules. (AN Photo by Shakil Adil)
Young boys play cricket by night in Karachi’s Landhi area on May 16, 2019. “Although there is no shortage of players, the small space means we can only play with five or six players,” local Muhammad Saqib told Arab News. Those who can’t will today will get a chance tomorrow; others are happy just watching the game throughout the holy month of Ramadan. (AN Photo by Shakil Adil)
Ebad Ahmed, who plays cricket with his friends on Imam Ahmed Road of Karachi’s PECHS neighbourhood, says it is a blessing that school summer vacations have coincided with Ramadan for the last several years now. “We sleep after fajar [morning] prayers and get up in the afternoon,” he told Arab News on May 16, 2019. “We have fun at night without any worries of having to get up early.” (AN Photo by Shakil Adil)
Young boys play cricket in Karachi’s lower middle and lower class Korangi neighbourhood in the holy month of Ramadan. Four cement blocks form their wickets and the batsman is wearing flip flops instead of cricket shoes on May 16, 2019 (AN Photo by Shakil Adil)
Sports expert Atiq Ur Rehman says street cricket especially in Ramadan has been played in Karachi for the last several decades and matches are now held at thousands of places in the city, including in major stadiums. “It’s street cricket which has encouraged the holding of night tournaments by different cricket clubs,” Rehman said on May 16, 2019. “The first proper night tournament with hard ball was played in Karachi gymkhana long ago. Other games have followed suit.” (AN Photo by Shakil Adil)
Boys wear rubber flip flops, shorts, shalwar kameez, baseball caps during night cricket games on Karachi’s teeming streets in the holy month of Ramadan. There is no expectation to wear uniforms or play by strict rules. “The only thing which is common among us is the passion for cricket,” local Muhammad Yasir, told Arab News, during a game near the Light House area on May 16, 2019 ( AN Photo by Shakil Adil)
During night cricket in Ramadan, a teenager in a shalwar kameez suit hits the ball near Habib Bank on Karachi’s I.I. Chandigarh Road, popularly known as the Wall Street of Pakistan and one of the busiest thoroughfares that runs across the city. The State Bank of Pakistan and Karachi Stock Exchange are both located on this road. May 16, 2019 (AN Photo by Shakil Adil)
In street cricket matches during Ramadan, young boys say you can only hit the ball so hard, unless you want to lose it. “Just in the first few days of Ramadan, we use hundreds of balls,” Noman Ahmed, a young player at Denso hall, said, laughing as he said losing balls was part of the game. May 16, 2019 ( AN Photo by Shakil Adil)
“The beauty of street cricket is that one doesn’t have to care about formalities,” a young player in the Light House area of the city said, pointing towards crates of Coca Cola, stacked up on top of each other to form a wicket during a night cricket match in Ramadan on May 16, 2019 (AN Photo by Shakil Adil)
Boys play night cricket on a street in Karachi’s Korangi industrial area in the holy month of Ramadan on May 16, 2019. “We first try to find a place where there is enough street light but if we can’t, we purchase more blubs and fix them to power cable poles or trees for more light,” cricket enthusiast Zakir Ali told Arab News. He said it was his responsibility to collect donations from other street kids and adults in the street who wanted to be part of the Ramadan tournament. ( AN Photo by Shakil Adil)