May 31 (India Today) – The World Cup 2019 is on its way with hosts England beating South Africa in the opening match on May 30. Launched with a lot of fanfare, the lead up to the prestigious event involved multiple events where the captains of the participating teams had to make appearances. One of the most talked about among these was the meeting with Queen Elizabeth and Prince Harry at the famous Buckingham Palace.
While all the captains wore formal blazers and suits at the event, Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed stood out having worn a traditional ‘salwaar-kameez’. When he was asked about the choice of his attire later at a press conference, Sarfraz said that he was ‘proud’ of wearing his national dress and that it was also one of the instructions given by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to ‘promote the nation’s culture’.
“You know well that what I wore yesterday was our national dress (salwar kameez), and it felt nice to wear it. We had the instructions from the PCB to follow that protocol, to wear our national dress. So I was just trying to promote our culture. As a captain, I felt very proud that, while all other captains were dressed in suits, I was clad in our national dress, the salwar kameez,” explained Sarfraz.
Further dwelling on his meeting with the Royals, the Pakistan skipper felt it ‘was a great honour’. Sarfraz also revealed that Prince Harry after meeting him expressed his desire to ‘bowl’ to him some day.
“We met the Queen and Prince Harry who was also present. He appreciated all the 10 captains and wished us the best of luck. People dream about meeting the Queen, so it felt great to represent Pakistan. That was a great honour for me.
“Prince Harry was asking us if we’ve played in England before, and how long we’ve been here. And he asked me what I do, and I said I’m a wicketkeeper-batsman and he said he’d like to bowl to me someday. And I said ‘okay, sure!’,” concluded Sarfraz.
Pakistan are set to launch their campaign with an encounter against the West Indies at Trent Bridge later today. While both the sides are unpredictable and boast of many good players, it remains to be seen how they cope with the pressure of a tournament like the World Cup.
