When it comes to cricket, there should be no doubt that Pakistani nation is passionate about it. You can see children and adults playing street cricket alike, aspiring to be professional, enjoying every match and celebrating every Pakistani victory on streets and loss in beds as they tweet away their frustration.
Pakistanis, across the globe, follow national team on every tour from the comfort of their home. Everyone is super excited; biting their nails as the not-so-young Zulfiqar Babar hits six on the last ball and giving tough competition to commentators by the non-stop verbal rants.
The enthusiasm of the nation can be gauged by comparing the average TV ratings of cricket matches played by Pakistan with match between two foreign countries. For instance the average TV ratings of a match in year 2012, was 2.24, which is quite substantial.
Especially in case of Pakistan versus India series in December 2012 rating went as high as 4.3 which is overwhelming, and was due to the traditional rivalry between both the countries.
Pakistani’s are naturally more enthusiastic about their team’s performance and this was evident in this year’s ICC Champions Trophy. Average rating of Pakistan’s matches, during the tournament, was 1.5 as compared to the 0.5of eliminating round matches where Pakistan was absent from the tournament. This tournament’s low ratings were due to the poor performance of Pakistan team and its early exit from the tournament.
Moreover, the T20 format sensation, IPL, is very exciting and has immense support and following in the cricket community. However, in Pakistan this tournament has only an average rating of 0.9, which is far below the entertainment it provides to the cricket lovers around the global.
One reason for low ratings is the absence of Pakistani players from the tournament. So it is safe to assume that average Pakistani cricket fan is more interested in seeing Pakistani player on the cricket field as compared to other cricketers surrounded by glittery cheer leaders.
It is evident from the above stated statistics that Pakistanis have a flare for cricket but they are more interested in watching their home team playing in the international tournaments and cricket series rather than following every other team or event in the cricket world.
