Pakistan grows a baseball team from its home soil

The Pakistani national baseball team reached the United States on Tuesday for World Baseball Classic qualifiers, slated to begin on Thursday.

“It’s like going from black-and-white to colour,” third baseman Zubair Nawaz said, speaking through his interpreter and team manager Syed Fakhar Shah. “I’m a third baseman, but my favourite is Derek Jeter,” said Nawaz, 26, who dreams of becoming a major leaguer. “And the Yankees, of course,” he added.



The Pakistani players at their workout Tuesday. The team had limited opportunities to practice in Pakistan.PHOTO: NEW YORK TIMES

The founder of Pakistani baseball Syed Khawar Shah is also the secretary of Pakistan Federation Baseball and the father of the national team manager Fakhar Shah. Khawar brought baseball to Pakistan in 1992, hoping to participate in what was — and will be, again, in 2020 — an Olympic sport.

Batting practice at the workout. Syed Khawar Shah brought baseball to Pakistan in 1992, hoping to participate in what was — and will be, again, in 2020 — an Olympic sport. PHOTO: NEW YORK TIMES

Baseball teams were established across all four Pakistani provinces, with a championship tournament aired on a major television network. While cricket remains the most popular sport in Pakistan, Fakhar insisted that baseball was competing with field hockey in terms of fan interest.

However, political and economic issues bring forth many challenges for baseball players in the country. Limited finances and no real baseball stadiums in Pakistan for instance, have led many players to start training on one of the two fields at the United States embassy.



Participating in international tournaments is also a problem for the team due to visa issues. For the World Baseball Classic, only 24 of the 29 Pakistani players arrived on Tuesday. But the others are expected to join them on Wednesday. Moreover, the Pakistani team might have to tackle the delicate subject of having to compete with Israel in the tournament, even though Pakistan does not ban completion with the Jewish state, unlike Iran.

Israel Manager Jerry Weinstein, far left, and Pakistan Manager Syed Fakhar Shah, foreground, at a news conference Tuesday. Their teams may play in the qualifiers. PHOTO: NEW YORK TIMES

“There are really just two countries in the world founded on religion, Pakistan and Israel,” Fakhar, who is a dual citizen of Pakistan and the United States and lives much of the year in Danville, said. “We are trying to keep this low. For us, it’s a game, and we feel positive about it. Major League Baseball is doing a good thing, bringing countries together.”



“I’m the most apolitical person in the world,” he said. “Playing Pakistan for me would be no different than managing in the Cal League, or any other game.” Fakhar is proud that his team comprises native-born players.

Only 24 of the 29 Pakistani players were on hand Tuesday, and the arrival of others had been stalled until at least Wednesday because of visa problems. PHOTO: NEW YORK TIMES

The World Baseball Classic, unlike the Olympics, does not require athletes to be passport-holding citizens of the nation they play for. Instead, they must merely meet the standards that would be required of them to apply for citizenship.

The opening match will be against the higher-ranked Brazil team; but according to Fakhar, “It’s not about the winning and losing, it’s about the learning.”

This article originally appeared on the New York Times, a partner of The Express Tribune.