A TV channel recently showed some boys playing cricket. Then on a hit from a batsman the ball smashes a windowpane.

Exactly that moment a singer starts singing Naheed Akhtar’s famous song, `Allah hi Allah kiya karo’. The boys listen to the song, abandon play and go home.

Moral of the story: Cricket is a bad thing and is the very opposite of religion.

Is this really what a TV channel should do? Is cricket — or any sport for that matter: soccer, hockey, tennis and volleyball: anti-religion?

And if all sports are bad and constitute criminal activity, what should Pakistani boys do in spare time – burn, kill, learn terrorism, don suicide jackets?

Is this the message the TV channel should give to Pakistan’s youth? Once world champions in hockey and cricket, Pakistan are now at the bottom in cricket and hockey leagues.

If the TV channel concerned cannot contribute to a renaissance of our hockey and cricket, the least it can do is not discourage boys from taking part in such a healthy activity as sport.

RIZWAN YASSIN Karachi