Expected Imam of Kaaba, welcomed U-19 team instead: How Pakistan’s airport welcome went awkwardly wrong

For many in Pakistan, the announcement sounded momentous. The Imam of Masjid al-Haram, the Great Mosque in Mecca, was said to be arriving. Madrassa teachers and students were rushed to Islamabad Airport, expecting a rare religious moment involving Sheikh Abdul Rahman al-Sudais.

What they got instead was Pakistan’s Under-19 cricket team. The result was confusion, anger and more than a little embarrassment.

On Sunday, groups of madrassa teachers and students were brought to Islamabad Airport after being told that the Imam of Islam’s holiest site was landing in Pakistan. Instead, they found themselves part of what appeared to be a staged reception for the Under-19 cricket team, which had just won the U-19 Asia Cup after defeating India.

The teenagers were cheering. The madrassa students were not.

Videos from the airport showed visibly upset students questioning why they had been summoned. One madrassa student, speaking to the media, said they had been deliberately misled.

“We were brought here under false pretences. The SHO of Karachi Company told us that the Imam of the Kaaba was coming, and that we were to go there to deliver a speech and perform recitation. That was the reason given for bringing us here. We had no idea that a cricket team was coming,” he said.

The video was shared on X by Pakistani journalist Zubair Ali Khan.

The student said the situation had disrupted their daily religious responsibilities.

“Our time has been wasted. We have to lead prayers in the morning. All the students were misled and brought here... none of the people here know why they were brought,” he added.

He also made a pointed remark that cut deeper than any cricket analysis.

“If Allah has not granted someone honour, we cannot give them honour. The cricket team are our Pakistani brothers, but we should not have been brought here under false pretences,” he said.

The episode reflects a deeper fatigue among Pakistani citizens when it comes to cricket. Years of defeats against India in ICC tournaments, bilateral series and high pressure matches have drained much of the public enthusiasm. What was once a source of national pride has increasingly become a source of frustration and dark humour.

Even former stars have not held back. Legends like Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar have publicly criticised the team’s fitness, discipline and professionalism.

Social media is flooded with self-deprecating memes, often made by Pakistanis themselves.

In the end, the airport scene summed up the country’s current relationship with cricket. When religious devotion is used to manufacture crowds for sporting optics, disappointment is inevitable. And when even that fails, sarcasm becomes the only coping mechanism left.