Outstanding in his field: Fort McMurray names cricket ground after community volunteer
‘I was dreaming, Is that real’
Like hockey in Canada, the game of cricket is considered a national religion in Pakistan. Even local players who are not quite stars are worshipped.
So consider how Irfan Bangash felt when he learned his name will be on a cricket field in Fort McMurray, a city he came to as a refugee.
"I don't have the words to describe it right now but I could not sleep," said Bangash, a 36-year-old entrepreneur and business adviser.
"I was dreaming. Is that real?"
The cricket field is oval shaped with a 22-yard pitch in the middle that's chalked with white creases.
Bangash has a replica of the sign, which the municipality has yet to erect after bestowing the honour Tuesday at Wood Buffalo municipal council.
The municipality named the cricket field after Bangash because of his contribution to the game in the community.
"It's a huge honour," Bangash said. "Just imagine a guy who just came from a different part of the world to a completely different culture.
"And in five or six years he finds out there's a cricket ground, which is his passion … named after him."
Bangash moved to Fort McMurray directly from Pakistan in 2011. He was fleeing death threats he faced in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, where he was born.
Bangash comes from an outspoken and political family. His relatives had challenged the oppression of the Shia minority group in the country.
'Find a job, make some money and move out'
When he arrived in Fort McMurray, he found a multicultural community that welcomed diversity.
But the sport he had grown up loving took a back seat to establishing himself in a foreign land.
"The only thing on my mind was to have a career, to find a job, make some money and move out of here," Bangash said.
Then he stumbled across a Pakistani cricket group at a local high school gym.
He eventually volunteered with the Fort McMurray Cricket Association and helped grow the cricket community from three mainly Pakistani and Indian teams to a total of seven.
The teams represent other cricket-loving nations such as the English-speaking Caribbean islands, England, South Africa and Australia.
After years of planning and co-operation with local government, the club got its permanent cricket ground in 2013, and started coaching in schools shortly thereafter.
The club has organized a competitive league and will be hosting a tournament over the Canada Day long weekend with teams from Edmonton, Grande Prairie, Red Deer, Lethbridge and Saskatchewan.
Although the field is named after Bangash, he says many others have contributed to the sport's local development.
Nevertheless, local player Shahzad Khan said his friend is the reason Fort McMurray has a cricket community this large.
Some shift workers in the busy oil town don't have time for team sports and tournaments, Khan said.
"Still, having those kind of hurdles, Irfan Bangash has made cricket go a long way here. Credit goes to him," Khan said.
As he looks to the future, Bangash wants to promote the game to the next generation of young players, in hopes cricket will no longer be seen as a foreign oddity. He knows that if he's successful, Fort McMurray will need more cricket fields.
"This should be a local sport," Bangash said. "We want to see the local kids playing it like hockey or baseball."
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