AFTER having failed miserably in the recent Champions Trophy, the national cricket team is not doing itself any favour on its tour to New Zealand, leaving the fans disappointed. A very hefty amount is being spent on cricket out of taxpayers’ money, and in every tournament and match, people pin their hopes on the players to bring home some good news. But that is almost always not the case.

Our so-called cricket ‘heroes’ receive obscene amounts of money for playing, and, yet, deliver one pathetic performance after another with zero accountability. A layperson in this debt-ridden country struggling to revive economy finds it hard to imagine what is going on.

On top of their playing fee, the ‘heroes’ earn partially undocumented amount by appearing in advertisements. The advertisers, it appears, do not take into consideration the feelings, emotions and psychological impact of these advertis-ements on disheartened and depressed fans because of the repeated humiliating defeats of our team.

Showing these cricket ‘heroes’ in these advertisements leaves a negative impact on viewers, who sometimes curse the product or the ‘hero’ laughing, smiling, enjoying the drink or promoting some other product, even after a string of horrible and ignominious defeats and making an unceremonious exit in major tournaments.

If the manufacturers really wish to promote their products, they should not involve at least such characters who are by no standard our national heroes.

As such, after boycotting all the pro-ducts manufactured by Jewish companies following the Gaza bloodshed, I have boycotted all such products in which a cricket ‘hero’ is shown enjoying a drink, showing no remorse on disappointing the nation.

I am sure, like me, millions of other Pakistanis do not wish to see them promoting their favourite products. I hope better sense will prevail, and advertisers would refrain from hiring cricketers to promote their products.

Aamir Aqil
Lahore

Published in Dawn, March 22nd, 2025