India vs Pakan: When Javed Miandad hosted Kiran More for dinner that ended 3 am and Manoj Prabhakar learnt reverse swing from Sarfraz Nawaz at a party | Cricket-world-cup News

For Javed Miandad, memories of evenings when touring India are about pyaar, mohabbat, gup-shup in Sunil Gavaskar’s room, enjoying the famous Tata hospitality, Dilip saab and a Bollywood party at Manoj Kumar’s home that had “Rishi Kapoor, yeh Kapoor, woh Kapoor … lot of big stars.” Kiran More’s Lahore nostalgia includes a sumptuous meal at Miandad’s place that went on till 3 am and his life-long bond with a Pakan cricketer who honoured their friendship naming his daughter Kiran.While television might still use the 1992 World Cup’s More-Miandad monkey-jump clip during dogfight debates to market cricket’s “war minus guns” encounters, the men at the centre of the epic face-off dismiss it as a moment of light-hearted banter. It’s the oldest exhibit used to underline every toxic cliché that gets thrown in just to hype this “more than a game” – like the latest one at the world’s biggest stadium here on Saturday. But both More and Miandad say they have a hearty laugh about that famous on-field incident whenever they meet, like they did after that crucial game more than three decades ago.
“Woh toh chalta rehta hai (These things happen). There was love, there was friendship. Whatever happens stays on the ground, in the evening we would sit together and joke about it and rib each other. Maybe, one day the world will really understand the mohabaat between the two nations. I tell you, log cricket se bahut galat cheezein le rahe hain (People pick wrong things from cricket),” says Miandad, whose father worked at the residency of the Nawab of Palanpur in Gujarat before he moved with his family to Karachi after Partition.

More lives in Baroda, coincidentally just 250 kms from Miandad’s roots in Palanpur. “There was nothing like a fight that day … no, no, not at all. It was the usual mind games. They would do the same to us. No fight, main unko bas bahut sataata tha (I would get on their nerves). Javed and the other was Salim Malik. Salim-Javed – bahut sataaya dono ko (Got on the nerves of both),” he says as he jogs his memory back to that World Cup match in Sydney when Miandad, irritated More’s constant bouncing-like-a-spring appeals, started mimicking him.
More has been reminded enough times about the incident that doesn’t truly define his equation with Miandad. He rarely gets quoted about his time at Miandad’s home in Lahore. “Me, Dilip (Vengsarkar), Vishy bhai (G Viswanath) went to his place. What food, what stories Javed had. We stayed there till 3 am. Till date, Javed, Zaheer bhai (Zaheer Abbas) call at Diwali, I wish them on Eid. It’s brilliant … just brilliant,” he trails off.

When Pakan would tour, the Indians would reciprocate. “Our families would be together. During the day when we would be playing, that would be the time when Vengsarkar’s wife would take my wife out for shopping. There was never any trouble for them when they ventured out,” Miandad recalls.
The Pakan legend, who played his last World Cup game in India, misses those innocent times. “Tab game ka yeh haal nahi tha (The state of cricket was not the same). Even fans were not this demanding, they were forgiving. Nowadays, everyone thinks of just ‘haar aur jeet’ (victory and defeat). Two teams are playing, one has to win, the other has to lose. Who plays well deserves to win,” he says before delivering a philosophical punchline.
More has been reminded enough times about the incident that doesn’t truly define his equation with Miandad.
“Yeh one-day ka World Cup hai par cricket ek din ki nahi hai, woh hai jab tak zindagi rahegi (This is a one-day World Cup but the game is not a one-day affair, this is there for one’s entire lifetime).”
Changing times
The current bilateral ties between the two countries wouldn’t allow players and their families from Pakan to go out shopping in Ahmedabad like they used to. The neighbours aren’t exchanging pleasantries over the fence these days. There’s already social media outrage, from both sides of the border, when Virat Kohli was seen giving Haris Rauf a warm hug and Shaheen Afridi handed gifts to Jasprit Bumrah for his new-born during last month’s Asia Cup in Sri Lanka.
Miandad appreciates how present-day players have continued the long-standing Indo-Pak cricketing bonhomie. “This is so good. Virat, Afridi ko mai mubaarak deta hun,” he applauds. More offers a practical reason. “It was always like this, the only difference is the social media. Back then, there was no one to capture our off-field friendship.”
The former India stumper recalls a Test in Bangalore when the two teams played Holi on the rest day of the Test match. “We played Holi and the next day we were on the field – both sets of players being very competitive and involved in intense action. Imagine, if this happened today and the entire media would have landed there and questioned us for being friendly with our rivals,” he says.

Spreading joy 🙌
Shaheen Afridi delivers smiles to new dad Jasprit Bumrah 👶🏼🎁#PAKvIND | #AsiaCup2023 pic.twitter.com/Nx04tdegjX
— Pakan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) September 10, 2023
Much before More played for India, he had bumped into a Pakan player on his cricketing journey. While playing league cricket in England, he ended up rooming with Abdul Raqib. “He was senior to me and took real care of me. Later, he played for Pakan and we became real good friends. Till date, we are close family friends, he named his daughter Kiran after me. The girl has grown, she calls often. Abdul became vice-president of Habib Bank, he was selector and manager. He keeps in touch, keeps asking about my mother. In 2004, I went to Pakan and he hosted us,” he says.Most Read
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More remembers another grand party during the 1989 tour that had many former cricketers. It turned out to be an evening when Manoj Prabhakar learnt to bowl reverse-swing. “The great Sarfraz Nawaz was there at the party. Prabhakar ne usko chaabi diya (Prabhar winded him). Chandu Borde, our manager, was also there. They reminded Sarfraz about his Australia series wickets and said: ‘Paaji, ball kaise banate hai (Paaji how to make a ball)?’ The very next day at the nets, Prabhakar was swinging the ball,” chuckles More.

It was another case of what Miandad calls ‘Pakan hospitality and their love’.
“Hamara doosri team se kya lena dena (What have we to do with other teams)? When India is playing some other team, we support India. Aadmi apna maazii kaise bhool sakta hai (How can someone just forget our past,” he says with the pain and angst of Partition reaching across the border.