The Javed Burki story: A gentleman’s game and a civil servant’s duty
The Hindu“I play golf every day. The word ‘discipline’ repeatedly comes up in our conversation as Burki turns back the clock and recalls his first visit to India with the Pakistan Test team in December 1960. “Even after the India series, when we played against Australia and New Zealand, it was the same story — we did not win, we did not lose, but we drew.” Four months before the team left for India, Burki returned to Pakistan from England to prepare for the civil services examination in November. We tried to explain to the gentleman in the kitchen, and they whipped up something from white flour,” Burki recalls, adding, “We ended up eating a lot of rice.” Wall of Legacy: Javed Burki’s picture adorns a gallery of Pakistan’s Test captains at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. Back in the 1960s, the Indian and Pakistani cultures were kind of similar, but now it was different…” Though he continues to follow Pakistan cricket, and the team’s struggles do disappoint him, Burki, sitting in a cosy corner of his Islamabad home, fondly reminisces about the game’s golden days and the fierce on-field rivalry with the neighbouring nation.
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