(Disclaimer: this is a work of fiction. Learn to take a joke; you’ll live longer.)
ISLAMABAD – The comparisons between the 1992 and 2019 Cricket World Cups began before the start of the tournament when it was announced that the latest edition would be the first since the one 27 years ago to have a round robin format.
Once the tournament started, Pakistan lost the opening match to the West Indies, won their second contest, the third match was washed out, and then lost their next two matches. All this mirrored the 1992 edition.
Pakistan then won the fifth match with a left-handed batsman named Sohail being the Man of the Match, and then won the sixth match against an unbeaten New Zealand side with five balls to spare – just like 1992.
Observers have noted that the eerie similarities between 1992 and 2019 aren’t limited to the playing field. For instance, Asif Ali Zardari was in jail during the 1992 World Cup as well.
However, it has been further observed that the comparisons between the two editions reach scary socio-political levels.
“Pakistan also persecuted religious minorities and used jihadist groups as strategic assets in the region in 1992,” said Aamna Bashir of the Islamabad-based Howzzat think-tank, which focuses on cricket-o-coincidence in the region.
“Similarly, Pakistan was a democratic façade still fighting for civilian supremacy, unnecessarily considering itself a military competitor for a much larger India in 1992,” noted Jamshed Ijaz of Midwicket Slog a nuclear cricket think-tank based in Karachi.