Photos: Pakistan’s street cricketers bring game to life in Greece

About 50,000 Pakistanis live in Greece, the embassy estimates, many of them labourers in fields or factories. Others own shops or restaurants. In football-loving Greece, cricket is an alien concept but for its migrants from Pakistan, one of the world's most cricket-crazy nations, it is a way of life.

Updated on: Jul 08, 2019 10:13 AM IST

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A man is ready to bat a ball during a tape-ball cricket game in a parking lot in the Tavros neighbourhood in Athens. In a barren Athens parking lot, young Pakistanis get in position for a game of cricket. On one end of the dust-covered concrete is a trash can; on the other, a pile of rocks. That is their pitch, and those are its wickets. (Alkis Konstantinidis / REUTERS)

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A man watches his national cricket team’s World Cup game against South Africa in a restaurant in central Athens. In football loving Greece, cricket is an alien concept. But for its migrants from Pakistan, one of the world’s most cricket-crazy nations, it is a way of life. (Alkis Konstantinidis / REUTERS)

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A man tries to catch the ball during a tape-ball cricket game in a disused parking lot for trucks in an industrial area in Elefsina. “I love cricket. I’m crazy for cricket. I’m 30 years old and I’m playing for 20 years,” said Awais Mughal, a delivery worker who arrived in Greece a decade ago. (Alkis Konstantinidis / REUTERS)

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On Sundays, a growing community of street cricketers travels across the capital to the unlikeliest locations, from car parks to abandoned industrial grounds, engaging in tape-ball cricket - an informal version of the game invented in Pakistan, played using a tennis ball wrapped in electrical tape. About 50,000 Pakistanis live in Greece, the embassy estimates, many of them labourers in fields or factories. Others own shops or restaurants. (Alkis Konstantinidis / REUTERS)

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Trophies and awards of Pakistani former Greece national cricket team player Mehdi Khan Choudhry, are displayed in his apartment in Athens. In Greece, the sole cricket ground is on Corfu, dating from the days when the Ionian islands were under British rule in the 19th century. (Alkis Konstantinidis / REUTERS)

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A man stands in the corridor as others watch their national cricket team’s World Cup game. Beyond the enjoyment the sport brings, he said, it helps forge camaraderie with migrants from other cricket-playing nations including Afghanistan, Bangladesh and even India, Pakistan’s archrival on and off the pitch. (Alkis Konstantinidis / REUTERS)

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Pakistani former Greece national cricket team player Mehdi Khan Choudhry throws a ball in the air as he umpires a game of tape-ball cricket in a disused parking lot for trucks. “Many people play cricket here but we have no grounds in Athens,” he said. (Alkis Konstantinidis / REUTERS)

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Cricket enthusiasts watch their national cricket team’s World Cup game against South Africa. With the Cricket World Cup under way, they compete in local tape-ball tournaments, and homes and restaurants are abuzz with fans. (Alkis Konstantinidis / REUTERS )