Why Chacha Cricket and Sudhir Kumar Chaudhary will end today with a hug

In the T20 Asia Cup, where tempers have frayed between India and Pakistan players on field, with imaginary gunshots and crashing planes, statements and slander grabbing headlines, Chacha Cricket, whose real name is Chaudhry Abdul Jalil, has been busy pacifying the fans.

“I just tell them, cricket is for love, not for fight… Support your country, respect your opponent. At least, the crowd listens,” he says, with a sardonic peal of laughter.

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In the stands, Jalil is often seen with Indian cricket’s own superfan — Sudhir Kumar Chaudhary, a wiry man with a bushy moustache, his body painted in the Tricolour and ‘Miss-U Tendulkar 10’ inked on the chest.

On Sunday, when India and Pakistan square off in the Asia Cup final and the antagonism could once again spill onto the field, Jalil and Sudhir would be shaking hands, spreading love and celebrating their two-decade-long brotherhood that has blurred boundaries of all hues.

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While Jalil is from Sialkot, Sudhir is from Bihar’s Muzaffarpur. Their world met in the heaving stands of an India-Pakistan game, though neither of them can remember their first meeting, for they have cheered for their teams in numerous games together. All they know is they quickly bonded and became “brothers for life”, the first person they speed-dial for help.

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“In India’s 2004 tour to Pakistan, I had no place to stay in Lahore. I didn’t know anyone there. I felt helpless. Then I contacted Chacha and he immediately told me to come home and stay with him. He took me around his place, introduced me to his friends and I had a great time with him,” says Sudhir, who got the visa with help from Sachin Tendulkar, and cycled to Lahore.

Years later, Sudhir reciprocated the favour, procuring Jalil a ticket for the India-Pakistan final of the 2017 Champions Trophy.

“It was an India-Pakistan final after a long time and there was a huge demand for tickets. I ran from pillar to post but could not find one,” recalls Jalil. “Then I called Sudhir… he told me he would find one and if he didn’t, he said he would give me his. I was so moved and he finally found me a ticket. We watched the match together. Both of us cheered passionately for our teams, but when Pakistan won the game, he was the first person to congratulate me.”

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For Sudhir, Jalil is like an elder brother. “He is so caring and warm. It is fun to have him in the stands. We joke around a lot and make fun of each other, but it is all in good spirit. When we are together we go out for lunch or dinner. We understand each other’s difficulties and try to help each other out, because being fans and watching every match is not easy. Both of us have overcome a lot of struggles,” Sudhir says.

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And both have sacrificed a lot to fulfil their cheer-leading duties.

Sudhir used to cycle miles to watch Tendulkar, his idol, bat. He performed odd jobs (from manual labour to assistant in supermarket) to fund his trips until cricketers began to help him out and often slept on the verandas of police stations and railway platforms.

Jalil, after a stint as the concrete-in-charge during the construction of the Sharjah Airport, was a foreman at the Abu Dhabi Municipality for 25 years. In the mid-90s, when his fame soared, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) volunteered to sponsor him for all games, home and away. Overjoyed, he quit his job and returned home, but a regime change at the PCB left him stranded. He was shattered but his love for the game was too much for him to desert it for livelihood. “There was always someone to help me out. God is kind to those who follow something passionately,” he says.

The hardships, both of them say, gave them a broader perspective of life and sport. “We see the game as just a game, on the field, moments that should be enjoyed and celebrated and with each other. In all these years, I had never quarrelled with an Indian supporter or an Indian fan with me. We are deeply patriotic, but that does not mean we should hurt each other. That is the basis of our friendship,” says Jalil.

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On Sunday, they will once again stumble into each other in the stands and cheer for their teams as fervently as they can. But the night, says Jalil, will end with a warm hug, “no matter who lifts the trophy”.

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