Expats use cricket to feel closer to home

AMMAN — Phrases like “good running” and “good batting” echo through a football field in Al Hussein Youth City in Amman every Friday as expatriates from Asia play cricket, a game quite foreign to Jordan.

Venkatesh Narayanan, an Indian expatriate and also a certified cricket umpire, cherishes the spirit of the bat and ball game, which can be played in a five-day game to a one-day game or a match that lasts a couple of hours.

For Narayanan and many players in the field, it means a lot to be able to play cricket, a sport so well known in their home countries, here in Jordan. 

“Jordanians love football but we also want them to see the game we are playing here,” Narayanan told The Jordan Times. 

“We can promote Jordan through cricket by holding a league with teams competing from different districts,” he added.

For two years now, Jemshid Hashim and Rajesh Govindan, both Indian expatriates, have coordinated to ensure that cricket remains an ongoing activity for the group. 

“It is a sport and a good opportunity to socialise far away from our homes,” he told The Jordan Times. 

“We enjoy the game with our friends, it feels like therapy,” Hashim added.

Groups from India and Pakistan frequent the field on Fridays.

Hashim explained that both Indians and Pakistanis speak similar languages and that they understand each other. “We are looking forward to playing together,” he added.

Across the field, Qazi Salman from Pakistan described the friendly atmosphere in the field. “Here, we are all brothers,” he said.

People from other countries such as the Netherlands, Australia and Nepal also join these weekly games.

Devashish Pradhan, who is half Nepali half Indian and has been in Jordan for two years working in architecture and design, said:  “Cricket brings people together. We have people from various backgrounds joining us.”

After the game, the players enjoy a delicious homemade breakfast together. 

Many of the attendees, such as Sanjith Kuttan from India, do their best to arrive early and make it for the game each week. Taking multiple buses from Sahab to the Youth City, or staying over at a friend’s house in Amman the night before, Kuttan, arrives enthusiastically each time ready to play. 

“It is a great time to meet people and forget everything,” said Kuttan.