Dubai: A walk down memory lane. That’s what Dubai’s Trevor Pereira is looking forward to, a good 20 years on, as neighbours Pakistan and India prepare for their 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup group match on Sunday.
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Pereira, who was present when India secured a 47-run victory against their traditional rivals on June 8 at the 1999 ICC Cricket World Cup, left on Thursday to watch Sunday’s face-off between the two traditional cricket rivals at Old Trafford, Manchester.
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Making the trip from Liverpool in June 1999, Pereira had picked up a Tendulkar jersey in Chester a night before that match.
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The next day he was part of the Indian team’s celebrations, after which he returned to Dubai with wife Hashmat, where he had the jersey washed and kept aside.
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However subsequently, the Dubai resident — a successful shipping and maritime executive — got this same jersey signed by Tendulkar during one of the tri-nations tournament in Sharjah.
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Given the hype surrounding Sunday’s match, Pereira has carried this same jersey, hoping to capture the good luck and form from two decades.
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“The last time I went with my wife Hashmat, but this time I decided to combine a bit of business with cricket,” Pereira told Gulf News before leaving for London, on Thursday.
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“The only difference is that this time I will be wearing my lucky 1999 World Cup jersey and hopefully India will win again,” he added.
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After Thursday’s washed-out encounter against New Zealand, India still go in as firm favourites as one of two unbeaten teams in the competition so far.
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Pereira is convinced his 1999 light blue jersey will be the precursor of good luck once again on Sunday, should rain not play spoilsport yet again.
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“Today I feel exactly what I felt 20 years back. There is that excitement in the stomach of watching the men in blue in action again. I feel like a child again who will be visiting the same ground to watch the same opposition. I can clearly hear thousands screeching, be it for a boundary or when a wicket fell. I am sure nothing will change this time,” Pereira related.
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“After this match, this jersey will be retired forever. I have plans to wash it, frame it and hang it in my office of home,” he added.