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Mohammad Basheer, the new Chacha of Pakistan booed for his support of MS Dhoni and team India
The Pakistan-born and Chicago-settled new Chacha supports Pakistan whenever they are in action.
11 March 2015 • 8:22 PM
It is not uncommon that players’ get slacked every now and then for their behaviour and performances on and off the field but fans getting the same treatment isn’t a common occurrence. Any cricket fan in today’s time will recognise few of the die-hard fans who travel around the globe to support their teams. (ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Cricket’s ultimate fan trio)
Pakistan fans will surely recognise their Chacha, Abdul Jalil Choudhry, who is always seen waving the Pakistan flag in the stands. He did not make it to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 due to financial constraints but surprisingly his lookalike Mohammad Basheer made it but he wished that he’d not come.
The Pakistan-born and Chicago-settled new Chacha supports Pakistan whenever they are in action, but he also is a huge fan for Indian captain MS Dhoni. But this truth hasn’t gone down well with the other Pakistani fans in Australia.
“During the India vs Pakistan match in Adelaide, many Pakistani fans heckled me as I made my affinity for Dhoni public. Some of them even went on to abuse me and called me a traitor. That was very sad and depressing and made me wish I had not come here in the first place,” Basheer told Mid-Day at Seddon Park before the India-Ireland match on Tuesday. (ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Full Coverage)
Basheer admitted that he has continued this World Cup tour only for the sake of Dhoni. “I love Dhoni because he is a wonderful human being. I was in India for the 2011 World Cup, and was struggling to get my hands on a ticket for the blockbuster India vs Pakistan semi-final. One Indian journalist, on learning of my predicament, sent a message to Dhoni, and the captain without even knowing who I am or meeting me, promptly sent me a match ticket, and I belonged to the ‘opposition’ camp. Dhoni won me over with that gesture,” added Basheer who is seen dressed in a special kurta and cap that has the Indian ODI captain’s pictures all over it.
Basheer has other reasons to support Indian as well. His wife hails from Hyderabad.
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“Dhoni was recently blessed with a baby girl, and in our religion we believe that when a girl comes to your house, she brings a lot of good fortune. So, when I met Dhoni yesterday, just as he alighted from the team bus, I told him that, and he smiled and thanked me. Today’s (Tuesday) match is also a sell-out and I didn’t have a ticket but I didn’t ask Dhoni. He found out and promptly sent across today’s match ticket through Mane Kaka (Indian team masseur Ramesh Mane). He’s a gem of a human being and a good human being transcends all boundaries of caste, creed and nationality. India deserves to win this World Cup because of Dhoni,” concluded Basheer before rushing off to click a picture with Sunil Gavaskar.