Shami’s village prays for final flourish from its illustrious son ahead of World Cup final

In Sahaspur Alinagar, Mohammed Shami's rise to fame has inspired local youth. Despite facing communal slurs, Shami has become a unifying force in the village. His coach, Badruddin Siddiqui, encourages Muslim boys to prove themselves instead of crying over discrimination.

“Maunh pe ko chadhe [it rises up the batsman’s face],” says a young Vinay Rai as he gleefully explains the threat the delivery of his hero poses to the best in the business; his hero, of course, is local — nay, international — icon Mohammed Shami. Hailing from a Dalit family, Vinay was among several youngsters from Sahaspur, and nearby villages, who had turned up on Saturday to play cricket on the ground that the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to turn into a mini stadium of around 10,000 square metres as a tribute to Mr. Shami’s exceptional performance in the ongoing Cricket World Cup 2023 that will reach its acme tonight.

Hailing from a Turk family, Mr. Shami, a practising Muslim, has emerged as a glue and an inspiration in the village that is hardly 70 kilometres from Madanpur village in Hapur where Qasim Qureshi was killed in June 2018 by a mob following alleged rumours of cow slaughter.

In Sahaspur Alinagar, a predominantly Muslim village, youngsters hesitate when asked to be clicked with cows they tend. They shift the conversation to buffaloes. They want to forget the way Mr. Shami was trolled with communal slurs after India lost to Pakistan in the 2021 T-20 World Cup. But as young Mohammed Zeeshan said they feared the hate could return any day their hero lost his magical touch. “We were worried when he dropped an easy catch in the semi-final but his seven-wicket haul quickly shifted the narrative.”

“Those who say Muslims should go to Pakistan need to introspect whether they want to lose out on assets like Shami and Siraj as well,” said Mugheer Alam, Mohammed Shami’s maternal uncle.

Badruddin Siddiqui, Mr. Shami’s coach in the neighbouring Moradabad, who helped in making the shift to Bengal after his protégé was repeatedly rejected in under-19 trials in his home state, said, “Instead of crying over discrimination, I tell Muslim boys to prove themselves. I know we have to repeatedly prove our love for the nation but sports is a great unifier. People of different faiths and castes drink from the same bottle of water. Now, how can anybody ignore Shami? See, the government has taken note of his performance and a mini stadium might be a small gesture but it has made a start.”

Pushpendra Pal, the local vistarak of the Bharatiya Janata Party, said Mr. Shami was always their own because he is working in desh hit (national interest). “Now, when the PM has congratulated him and a stadium is being built in the village what is left to say? But if the party thinks that the Muslims in the area will start voting for them, it is mistaken,” Mr. Pal said.

The proposal of the stadium, sent by Gram Sabha a few months ago, suddenly found traction after the semi-final with the lekhpal (a clerical post) and his team doing the rounds of the field with a measuring tape and a map. Dr Mumtaz, the spouse of the local Pradhan said earlier it was to be built through MGNREGA but now the government might outsource it.