Pakistan, today, is celebrating what can easily be called the revival of the golden days of cricket. With the World XI series recently hosted in the country, the embargo on international cricket has been lifted. This almost seems like a dream for Pakistan which has seen its share of discrimination, persecution and systematic dismantlement as a cricketing nation. So crippling was the effect that the country's cricketing infrastructure was going to ruins and the nation's confidence hitting an all-time low.
The journey to today has been a long and arduous one. In a sea of naysayers labelling Pakistan as unsafe and international cricket teams adamant not to visit, there have been beacons of hope which have consistently been working to push the country out of the abyss.
The first significant international fruition of their efforts came in the shape of the immensely successful Pakistan Super League (PSL) held in 2016 and consecutively in 2017. The nation was glued to their TV screens as Najam Sethi, opened the second season's finale in Lahore.
'We are united and a nation which can't be stopped from doing the right.' - Najam Sethi The triumph of this endeavour is enough to outshine any other achievements but it is absolutely pertinent to look beyond the dazzle to the entities who have long stood steadfast to the dream of uplifting Pakistani cricket. One such powerhouse has been Jazz, Pakistan's largest telecom operator boasting a market share of more than 52 Million customers.
Linked strongly with the vivacious Lahore Qalandars in the PSL and beyond, it might be easy to mistake the telecom's association with cricket as a more recent one. However, scratching the surface reveals that strategically, cricket has been one of its main and consistent platforms for the past two decades.
At a time when the nation needed hope and confidence in their heroes who were playing in foreign stadiums, Jazz carried the torch forward through its extensive sponsorship, marketing and communication plans. It led the way in the glorification of our national assets like Younis Khan upon becoming the highest Test Run Scorer in the country and the first Pakistani to cross the 10,000 Test Runs milestone.
On the local front, Jazz took it upon itself to support local cricket in all its forms by hosting cricket matches for students and the physically challenged to name a few and talent hunts such as 'The Hunt for Heroes' in collaboration with the PCB.
The consistent efforts by a market leader accumulated to a snowball effect, bringing in investments by other brands and corporations towards cricket. This metamorphosis of local cricket as marketing gold led to more events being hosted nationwide; slowly and gradually pulling Pakistan towards stabilization coupled with a sense of security and confidence.
'Cricket cannot be looked upon as a sport. It is a passion that will never die. They took cricket out of Pakistan but they can never take cricket out of a Pakistani. And we won't let them.' - Asif Aziz, Chief Commercial Officer, Jazz.
Emboldened by this sense of security and confidence, the conception and subsequent execution of the PSL (international and local players forming regional teams) came to be. Jazz was one of the first corporations to sign up with a PSL team, stamping its endorsement and conviction in the endeavour. More brands followed suit, soon after. PSL had been written off by many, before it even began to the point that Najam Sethi's promise to host the finale in Pakistan was scoffed and laughed at. The success of PSL brought about a seismic shift in the cricketing world toppling misconceptions, prejudices and dirty politics.
PSL is now a non-dismissible event on international cricket schedules and hopes are that future tournaments, in their entirety, will be hosted in Pakistan. This achievement, however was not enough for Jazz. In the summer of 2016, it collaborated with the Lahore Qalandars and launched a massive cricket talent hunt, Jazz Rising Stars (JRS). With the objective to scout and groom grass-root cricket talent and provide international exposure, it immersed into 8 districts of Punjab and grew to be the world's largest cricket talent hunt with more than 113,000 registered participants. Supervised by cricket legends Aqib Javed and Mudassar Nazar, the best talent was selected from each district which went on to play against each other in a grand tournament at Qaddafi Stadium attended by dignitaries, journalists, celebrities and the media.
The top 30 were taken in by the National Cricket Academy, the top 16 were taken to Australia to play a tri-series against Sydney Thunder and Sydney Sixers. The top 4 namely Usman Qadir, Saif Badar, Muhammad Irfan Jr and Ghulam Mudassar were selected and recruited in the Lahore Qalandars Squad 2017. Additionally, unique talent such as the magical ambidextrous fast bowler Yasir Jan (formerly a vegetable seller) was discovered who recently returned from the United Kingdom after completing his training at the Watford Cricket Club.
A venture of this magnitude and success did not go unnoticed and received international and local acclaim, even awards for being the harbinger for good for Pakistan.
The second edition of Jazz Rising Stars is currently underway and promises to be bigger than its first season. Trial camps have been set up not just in Punjab but in AJ&K as well where tens of thousands of young cricketers have already given trials. A 21-year-old bowler who can consistently bowl at over 90mph has already been discovered.
'Jazz Rising Stars, like all our efforts, is our investment in the country. We want to be the proponents that bring international cricket home, so our people can see their idols and heroes play LIVE in front of them.' Shahbaz Maqsood Khan, Director Marketing, Jazz.
Jazz Rising Stars has set a revolution in motion. Motivated, other PSL teams have announced that they too will be conducting trials for aspiring cricketers. This stands as a true victory for Pakistani cricket. This, however, will not be the first time that Jazz has strategically used its leadership to woo corporate investment in cricket which has led to the return of the glory days of cricket in Pakistan and promises to do more.-PR