Pakistan’s political divisions set aside as cricket-mad nation unites for T20 World Cup Final vs England

Political divisions will be set aside as fans will cheer for players that ‘represent the Pakistan flag and not a party flag’ during Sunday’s final vs England

Even a march calling for early elections by ex-prime minister Imran Khan – who is himself a cricket legend – will probably be wiped off the front pages

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Supporters of former prime minister Imran Khan, who blocked the entrance routes to capital Islamabad in protest against the gun attack on their leader, watch the T20 World Cup Semi Final cricket match, between New Zealand and Pakistan. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 4:00pm, 12 Nov 2022Updated: 4:13pm, 12 Nov 2022

Pakistanis say they will set aside the deep political differences which divide the populous nation of 225 million people for the next few days to support their national cricket team in the final of the T20 Cricket World Cup against England in Melbourne on Sunday.

Having cruised to a seven-wicket victory against fancied New Zealand on Tuesday, millions of Pakistanis were glued to their screens on Wednesday to see who they would face in the title contest.

The result set up a repeat of the 1992 One-Day Cricket World Cup Final between England and a Pakistan team led by Imran Khan, whose victory boosted his popularity to levels which ultimately culminated in his becoming prime minister in 2018.

Having been removed from office by a parliamentary no-confidence vote in April, and narrowly surviving an assassination attempt on November 3, Khan is expected to lead thousands of supporters into Islamabad on or around the day of the final, in a bid to force the government to call a snap general election.

When it comes to cricket, the whole nation unites and forgets about politics and politicians

Akbar Momand, sporting business executive

But his campaign will be forced on to the back foot until after the game, and for several days longer if Pakistan wins, fans told This Week In Asia.