A Pakistani fan’s journey across seven seas turned sour after he was not allowed to carry the India-Pakistan flags and jerseys inside the Chinnaswamy stadium ahead of the first Twenty20 international here on Tuesday.
Mohammad Bashir came all the way from Chicago to witness the first-ever bilateral series between the two countries since 2007. “I am very sorry to say that the police has not allowed me to carry India-Pakistan flags and jerseys inside the stadium. I did not like it,” Bashir said.
“Why did they do it to me? There will be many Pakistani government officials who would watch the match. Wouldn’t they be carrying our national flag and wearing jersey?” he asked.
Bashir said he arrived here from Chicago on Monday evening with his wife. He got a shock, though, on arrival as he found out that tickets had been sold out. But Bashir did not lose hope and visited the stadium in the morning and, fortunately, a gentleman handed him a ticket without taking a penny.
“The gentleman approached me with the ticket after he watched me on a news channel airing my disappointment of not getting a ticket to watch the match. People in India are so good that I really would cherish this very moment for years to come,” he said.
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