Making of a tape-ball star

Asad Shah talks with Bol News about his journey in the most deep-rooted format of the game

With young people enthusiastically participating, tape-ball cricket has become a nationwide phenomenon.

All around the country, people are playing cricket regardless of the time and this form of cricket has become so popular that players have turned it into a profession.

Bol News caught up with one such individual pursuing the game who is renowned for his wide range of shots all across the ground and thus, has been titled as ‘Asad 360 Tape-Ball player.’

Through the years

An enthusiast of the game now, Asad Shah was a cricket fanatic since the start and had many struggles in the initial ages of his career.

Having played both hard-ball and tape-ball cricket, Asad preferred the latter because of its convenience and fast-paced nature.

“Since I was a young child, playing cricket has been my obsession but success requires effort,” he said. “I used to get beat up by my brother yet I skipped madrassa and school to play cricket. Despite my struggles to get here, the Almighty has rewarded me with respect.”

Living in the metropolitan city’s Landhi area, Asad played most of his cricket at the Eid Gah ground in the beginning.

“I first started playing in different areas of Karachi but subsequently played all over Pakistan – in the main cities of Punjab including Lahore, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Islamabad and even in places like Peshawar, Swat, Balochistan, interior Sindh, and Kashmir all because of my skills,” he said.

However, in comparison to Karachi, Punjab has experienced a far greater level of the craze but the youth here as well are now more actively participating than ever before.

Geographically ideal

The renowned hard-hitter emphasised that while tape-ball has not recently gained as much popularity in Karachi as it has in different parts of Punjab, businessmen are now eager to invest in various competitions.

Further reiterating his point, Asad conceded: “In Karachi, there weren’t many sponsors to invest in the tape-ball cricket product. However, in Punjab, they play every day of the week and all day long. Despite that, a few sponsors have expressed their desire to invest in the game in one of the country’s largest cities, therefore tape-ball culture will now pick up in Karachi.”

Asad also provided a technical explanation as to why it was comparatively more difficult to play cricket in Karachi than in any other city in Pakistan.

“The cricket in Karachi is difficult compared to other cities due to the air pressure because of the sea. In Punjab, the size of the pitches and boundaries are relatively smaller. I have played all over Pakistan and Karachi has been the most difficult place,” he said.

The title-giver

Asad also revealed the person who originated his nickname ‘360 tape-ball player’ was one of his fans because of the vast range of strokes he plays, especially towards fine-leg and the extra-cover region with the lofted cover drive being one of his favourite shots.

Adaptability & support

Praising the unconditional support he received from his brothers to pursue tape-ball cricket, Asad also shared the lighter moments where his brothers were not at all supportive at the beginning.

“Since I was a young child, playing cricket has been my obsession but I used to get beat up by my brother, yet I skipped madrassa and school to play,” he said.

“Being the youngest among the five brothers, my elders were extremely cautious regarding me, my habits and the kind of activities I was involved in. They didn’t want me to get negatively influenced while growing up which is why they were strict in the beginning.

“However now, they know me and my habits well and so they are also aware of the fact that I won’t indulge in malpractices. This is the reason that they have now supported me throughout the thick and thin.”

A reward of the hard yards

Moreover, the explosively talented player revealed that he now makes a good sum of money through tape-ball cricket matches and has undertaken it as his only profession.

When asked about his average pay per match, he revealed: “It depends on the events and the quality of cricket in the competition. I earn around PKR 100,000 rupees a month, while the earnings go up occasionally. I represent Shirwani Sports Club and also play as an individual guest cricketer. I have also received three bikes from different events in the previous month,” he added.

Although he earns quite a lot from cricket, it isn’t without immense hard work and effort.

With a lot of cricket activity taking place in different parts of Karachi and grand tournaments being organized in the city as well, Asad revealed his tough schedule and stated that he spends most of his time outside playing cricket as per the demands of different clubs all over the country.

“I play cricket for almost 15-20 days in a month during which I travel to Punjab for a number of cricket events, usually staying away from home for four to five days where we travel by air as well as via buses to different destinations.”

Social media – a huge contributor

With the growing popularity of tape-ball cricket in Pakistan, Asad talked about how efficient social media is these days.

He said that this is a time of social media where you can become famous instantly and shared his example of how he has been approached by different organisers to sponsor him after seeing his performances on different platforms.

He now plays with a sponsored bat and like most of the tape-ball professionals, he prefers coconut willow among the many other willows available, each with their distinct quality.

Quality bowlers: a treat

While it was difficult for Asad to recall one of his favorite knocks, he reported that he loved facing high-class bowling. “I have played some great innings in my 14-year career and have always enjoyed playing against quality bowlers.”

KTPL champions

In recent events, Asad’s side also came out victorious in the Karachi Tape-ball Premier League (KTPL) which was broadcasted live on television as well.

Asad discussed the match and conceded that they had to face tough teams throughout the tournament.

“Our semi-final encounter was quite competitive,” he said. “We were up against professional Pakistani players while their bowling attack was decent as well. I gave confidence to the boys and each one of us was gelled together before the match. Eager to beat the opponents, we came out hard at them and successfully defeated them, eventually becoming champions of the tournament.”

A cultural addition

Tape-ball cricket has now become a culture that has been embedded into the system of the game as many international stars of Pakistan have progressed to the bigger stage after playing at this level and Asad has faced the majority of the prominent ones.

“I have faced national cricketers at this level, having been featured with the likes of Anwar Ali, Sohail Khan, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, etc. Most of the international stars also started playing their cricket with tape-ball, they know about the craze of this form of the game,” said Asad.

The barrier

Having gotten many opportunities at the higher level due to his popularity, the 360 tape-ball player maintained that he didn’t pursue hard-ball because of his own preference.

“I also played hardball, but I didn’t like it. In hard-ball cricket, there is a lot of bias, but in tape-ball, you can exhibit your true potential without any inhibitions. Here, only performances matter as on social media everyone follows tape-ball but in hard-ball, nobody watches First-Class cricket.”

Skillful compatriots

Asad repeatedly said that he is not afraid of facing any bowler. In fact, he likes to play against top-quality pacers and complicated spinners and has respect for everyone. He also named his favorite bowler while saying: “I am not afraid of any bowler. It is all about performing on the day. If it is not your day, you will get dismissed even on a full toss delivery.

But one of my favorite bowlers is Zaheer Kaliya, who belongs from Lahore. He is a deceptive bowler whom the batter can’t pick and anticipate as to what he is about to deliver. He is 40+ and still plays at the best level in tape-ball cricket.”

Asad also named a few of the best players from Karachi: “Dawood Pathan, Bahadur Lefty, they are the renowned names in Karachi. Dawood is also my senior and has supported me a lot. The talent in Karachi is immense.”

A battle of nerves

He added that there is a fierce competition during the game and the intensity level matches that of international games.

“During matches, there is no brotherhood as we have to compete but besides that, we indulge together and have fun. The Karachi versus Punjab matches are highly competitive. Punjab has specialist bowlers while Karachi has better batters. We had a game at Chakwal recently where it felt like a Pakistan-India game. The crowd was electrifying while the players were top-class too,” Asad disclosed.

Growth and recognition of tape-ball cricket

Asad maintained that the following of tape-ball has increased exponentially.

“I am playing cricket since 2006 but now things have changed,” he said. “Our game is valued across social media platforms where matches are live-streamed and everyone watches us.”

While there are speculations around the fact that the tape-ball cricketers also train equally hard as the hard-ball cricketers and any other professional athlete, Asad concluded by saying: “Just like every other cricketer, we also train day in day out in order to stay fit for the games.”