Wicked at cricket
When it comes to cricket, Nizar Punjani has always been a good sport.
Punjani, who is MRU’s associate vice-president, assurance and advisory, is taking his game to the world stage after being selected to represent Canada in the World Series Cup in Brisbane, Australia, starting on March 31. Three players are from B.C., eight from Ontario, one from P.E.I. and six from Alberta, all set to compete against Australia, New Zealand and the U.S.
Quite the score for the 47-year-old who first picked up a cricket bat as a wee boy back in Karachi, Pakistan.
“When I was five or six years old I was playing backyard cricket with my uncles. That's how my passion started,” Punjani says. “Cricket in any Southeast Asian country is just like hockey here.”
He stopped playing competitive cricket in his early 20s but continued leisure games and joined a corporate league in Karachi while earning his accounting degree.
Punjani figured his days participating in the sport were over when his family moved to Edmonton about a decade ago.
“I was thinking my cricket journey would kind of end,” he says.
But that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Cricket actually has a long history in Alberta’s capital, dating back to 1905. Recently it has become so popular that Edmonton has gone from 40 to 150 teams over the last four years.
Punjani ended up back on the field and on his way to securing a spot at the international level — just another gift he’s found in what he calls a land of opportunity.
“My wife and I moved here to provide a good future for our kids. It not only turned out to be a good country for our kids but for us and now Canada is providing me an opportunity to play cricket and represent the country,” he says.
The game has numerous versions, some lasting for several days.
Punjani plays the ODI and the T20 versions, games that are both completed in substantially shorter time frames. These days, he trains at least eight to 10 hours a week and competes with the Strathcona Cricket Club within the Edmonton District Cricket League.
Passion for cricket is not a family affair.
“No, they don’t have any interest in playing,” he says of his university-studying son and daughter who is a high-school student. “They didn’t get the opportunity to learn and watch. My son is more into soccer and my daughter is into volleyball.”
Now a Calgarian and MRU employee, Punjani, who plays as a top order when the team is at bat and wicket-keeper when the team fields, loves everything about the bat and ball game.
“Cricket is played as a team. It’s not an individual sport,” he says. “It teaches life lessons — of collaboration, team effort and backing of each other. The main thing I learned from cricket is humility. Maybe you score a century — 100 runs, and the very next day or game you may get out on a duck – without scoring. That teaches you … don’t ever be so proud in feeling about some of your achievements because the next day you’ll be at ground level.”
Wildly popular albeit widely seen as a complicated game with a complex set of rules, cricket has evolved from only being played in old Commonwealth nations such as India, South Africa, Australia and the Caribbean into a global attraction.
Punjani is pleased to see enthusiasts gaining ground in Canada with some universities in Eastern Canada even offering it as an on-campus sport.
His boss, Mustansar Nadeem, vice-president of finance and administration, says Punjani has stepped up to share his love for the sport at MRU.
“Nizar's passion for the game of cricket is contagious and he was instrumental in bringing a cricket learning camp to MRU Camps last year. It is such a great honour to be part of the national team and I think it speaks to his love for cricket and his commitment to the sport. We will be rooting for him and cheering him on,” he says.
Jason Unsworth, director of business and retail services, says cricket was a hit at MRU Camps thanks to Punjani.
“We wanted to expose our campers to a variety of games, sports and activities, and in 2024 we introduced cricket with the support of Nizar. We are trying to put a global lens on our programming and there is no better way than to make something like cricket part of the adventure our campers get to enjoy,” he says. “It was well received by both campers and staff and will be part of our curriculum for years to come.”
Punjani’s next goal?
To be selected to play in the World Cup O40 Masters category in December.
“Every member country automatically plays in Karachi,” he says. “I will be going back to my home country but playing for Canada.”