Pakistan, Bangladesh combine to flood BCCI with 'mauka'

Published March 28, 2015
Fans from Pakistan and Bangladesh scored a victory of another kind on Friday. —Screen grab from video
Fans from Pakistan and Bangladesh scored a victory of another kind on Friday. —Screen grab from video

When defending champions India were hammered by Australia in the World Cup semi-final on Thursday, fans from Pakistan and Bangladesh knew their mauka had finally come.

To rub salt into the wounds of MS Dhoni's team a day after their 92-run loss to Australia, enthusiastic fans from Pakistan and Bangladesh (both lost to India) called the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) headquarters more than 200 times to remind them of their thrashing by singing Mauka, mauka.

Mauka, mauka (opportunity), a popular TV ad that aired during the World Cup, captured a Pakistani fans endless journey to beat India at the cricket showpiece. While that wait did not end at this year's tournament, fans scored a victory of another kind on Friday.

As soon as the staff at the BCCI headquarters would pick up, the callers would sing: “Mauka mauka! Kya hua mauke ka? (What happened to the opportunity)?” the Indian Express reported.

“The BCCI office number is available on our website. These over-zealous people were simply happy that India lost. They pulled a prank on us but after a point it got really irritating. The advertisement was popular but I didn’t expect it to come back at us like this,” a BCCI staff member said.

According to the report, the calls started around 4 pm on Friday and were such a nuisance for those present at the BCCI offices that they had to disconnect the lines.

“We got the telephone company to trace the origin of these calls. A large number of them were from Bangladesh, while the rest were from Pakistan,” the BCCI staff member added.

The BCCI staff usually receives calls inquiring about match tickets and schedules but this was the first instance fans from overseas had made such an effort.

“This is the first time we have received calls from outside the country to mock the Indian team’s performance,” the staffer said.

Opinion

A state of chaos

A state of chaos

The establishment’s increasingly intrusive role has further diminished the credibility of the political dispensation.

Editorial

Bulldozed bill
Updated 22 May, 2024

Bulldozed bill

Where once the party was championing the people and their voices, it is now devising new means to silence them.
Out of the abyss
22 May, 2024

Out of the abyss

ENFORCED disappearances remain a persistent blight on fundamental human rights in the country. Recent exchanges...
Holding Israel accountable
22 May, 2024

Holding Israel accountable

ALTHOUGH the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor wants arrest warrants to be issued for Israel’s prime...
Iranian tragedy
Updated 21 May, 2024

Iranian tragedy

Due to Iran’s regional and geopolitical influence, the world will be watching the power transition carefully.
Circular debt woes
21 May, 2024

Circular debt woes

THE alleged corruption and ineptitude of the country’s power bureaucracy is proving very costly. New official data...
Reproductive health
21 May, 2024

Reproductive health

IT is naïve to imagine that reproductive healthcare counts in Pakistan, where women from low-income groups and ...