In the illustrious annals of Pakistan’s cricketing history, there have been a number of wicket-keepers who have staked a claim to be called as the best to represent the country. And one of those aspirants is Rashid Latif.
Known as much, if not more, for his off-field controversies as for his cricketing exploits, Rashid always carried a reputation of being a thinking cricketer. In his 37 Tests, he scored 1381 runs with the help of a century and seven half-centuries. Behind the stumps he took 119 catches and dismissed 11 batsmen via stumping. His ODI record is equally impressive.
Born on the 14th of November, 1968, in Karachi, Latif was into cricket from the very beginning. However, he did not compete his university education as he was selected for the national squad. And though his career has been full of controversies, Rashid seems very relaxed about it. Says he, “Controversies are part of the game. Diego Maradona was a legend, to say the least, but he was in a lot of controversies throughout his life. It’s just that, the greater the value of a player is, the more are the controversies against him. So for me controversies have always been part of the game and one should learn to live with them.”
Talking about movies, he says he likes anything that attracts him at first impression. “I can watch any flick. There was a time when I used to rent a lot of movies. But since becoming a full-time cricketer, I have stopped renting movies. It’s just that whatever makes me stay in front of the television while I’m surfing the channels, is a good movie.” But the ones that include a concept of reality attract him the most. Says he: “I really liked some Indian movies, for instance there was Parinda and Company. In English, Born on the 4th of July is the one I like. But the idea really is that the movies relating to reality are the ones I like the most.” Talking about Pakistani movies, Latif was very frank and said that the Pakistani productions aren’t of standard. “Neither the sound is good nor the picture is clear, so if one cannot see and listen properly how on earth is he going to understand the story?” said he. His favourite actors include some well known names like Al Pacino, Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt and Ajay Devgan.
Since he likes to surf the channels in his free time, which channels does he watch? “Well, sometimes I watch the famous Indian soaps but apart from that I really prefer the programmes directed by Asfar and Mani. Serials like Sab Set Hai and Yeh Cheez are a treat to watch. Plus it’s not the same old stories; these guys are here with many new ideas and are doing wonders as far as entertainment is concerned. So whenever I get a chance I watch these dramas. But then, I also watch Ten Sports and ESPN. I am a die-hard soccer fan and cricket is my profession, so I prefer watching sports to anything else.”
Talking about music that he likes to listen to, he says “I listen to anything that sounds appealing to the ears. Nowadays I listen to more of the religious stuff, but I would listen to anything I get. I used to listen to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan a lot, in my youth, then Junaid Jamshed and Ali Haider entered my favourites list, but the one I love to listen to is Ali Zafar.”
Well, the ‘Channo’ guy has impressed many they say.
Cricket is undoubtedly the most celebrated sport in our country and it requires prime fitness. So how did Rashid Latif manage to keep himself fit since the last decade and a half? “Well, keeping my body fit goes back to my college days when I used to wake up at 4 in the morning and would start running; I would continue running until the sun shone bright. This was my passion early on as I was a huge fan of Jahangir Khan. I would do this daily and this helped me a lot in the future. It’s just that the more you train daily the better your performance gets.” And cricket is firmly entrenched in his reading habits as well for he likes reading autobiographies of great players. “Normally I like to read autobiographies of players I used to watch as I grew up, but sometimes I get bored reading the same stuff that I’ve seen already. Apart from that, whenever I went on a tour I like to pick up books relating to those countries that tell us about its history. So I’m kind of into history as well. Plus I read a lot of cricket and soccer magazines.”
It’s very important for any sportsman as to what he eats. There aren’t any special favourite dishes of his but he loves desi food, especially vegetables.
As for the talent that is in our country, especially when it comes to cricket, Rashid holds the view that there is more to come. “Players like Younis Khan, Danish Kaneria, Asim Kamal and Shoaib Akhtar have long careers in front of them and they are the ones who have to take charge of the ship in some years to come.”
Giving a wild guess I was shocked to find him saying that if he would have not been a cricketer, Rashid would have been a politician.
In his message to his fans, Latif said “Always work hard, don’t take much help from others try to achieve feats on the basis of your own merit. But more importantly, be an optimist and never lose hope.”
In the illustrious annals of Pakistan’s cricketing history, there have been a number of wicket-keepers who have staked a claim to be called as the best to represent the country. And one of those aspirants is Rashid Latif.
