Troubled FATA seeks long overdue cricket revival

In 2010, fast bowler Abdul Haq was spotted at a Pakistan team camp in Abu Dhabi. He came from the drone-hit Mirali region in North Waziristan, and was working as a driver of heavy-duty vehicles and supervisor at a local construction company. He caught the eye briefly before fading back into his livelihood of labour. There's been no trace of him around Pakistan camps since.

Haq was passionate about cricket and wanted to bowl fast. He was impressive in the nets in Abu Dhabi, where he troubled the Pakistan batsmen, but was unfortunate because he hailed from a troubled area, Waziristan in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) - a place he escaped to to earn a living in the UAE. His dream to play cricket never materialised because there was no cricket infrastructure at home.

FATA is a tribal region in northwestern Pakistan, bordering the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan to the east and south, and Afghanistan to the west. It has seven tribal agencies and six frontier regions, directly governed by Pakistan's federal government from Islamabad. The territory is devastated by drone attacks and regularly appears in the news for its links to militancy, and is seen as a war-torn area.

There is no organised cricket there and the journey to any good cricket centre is at least a 12-hour journey and involves passing through a rigorous army check post.

In 2013, the PCB under Zaka Ashraf's chairmanship recognised FATA as a full member of the domestic circuit and allowed them to try and qualify for first-class cricket. They eventually made it to the main round of the Quaid-e-Azam trophy, Pakistan's premier first-class tournament, and have not done badly so far.

FATA have tried to make sure they do not lose any more players like Abdul Haq. There are as many as 194 clubs in the region, which is divided into 10 districts and tribal agencies - Kuram, Bajour, Mohmand*, Khyber along with major cities like Banu, Tank, Kohat, DI Khan. They had qualified for the QEA with their own players, despite cricket being under developed in the region.

"We have beaten all the major teams, which have been playing first-class from decades, and our qualification isn't just a fluke or something like a direct entry," Noor ul Haq Baloch, the FATA president who lives in Tank, told ESPNcricinfo. "We came up with serious competition, not just this year but we have been trying from last three straight years. However for last few years we have been shunned, but this time we have been finally given a written commitment that once we win the qualifying round we will be given a straight line to the main round. We are happy now.

"Cricket in the region is the main sport that drives not only young but old people as well. Although we don't have facilities there, no grounds at all, and the people are poor with no livelihood … when they have nothing to eat, no reason to live then obviously they will go off-track in life and do what they shouldn't be doing."

Last year the Pakistan army launched a military operation against various militant groups to try and make the region stable, improve the overall security situation in the country, and reduce the number of terrorist attacks. While there has been such a reduction, the upshot is that many families based in the FATA region have had to leave and move to other parts of Pakistan, mainly Peshawar.

"There are issues within the region but mainly in the outskirts … there is a genuine love for cricket … They might have lost their way but the game is bringing them back. If one is poor and has no business and livelihood then what can he do? But now the region playing at top of the Pakistan domestic circuit is a reason for them to return. In the future the entire team will be from this part of the region."

The top 15 FATA players are on monthly retainers. Five players in category A earn PKR 20,000 per month, with PKR 15,000 and 10,000 for players in category B and C. Each player also earns PKR 10,000 per first-class match, in addition to travelling expenses.

"We have a lot of Pathan players already playing for Pakistan and they are the main inspiration for the regional players," Noor ul Haq said. "The talent is raw around here but they have the true spirit and heart for the game because they are not spoiled with the fanciness of internet and commercial world. They play for the interest and love for the game and they are loyal to their land, and that is the best feature.

"Also they are strong, growing up in hills, they have solid build-up and are mentally strong. But what required is attention to the region. So far the boys are on their own, they are coming to the big city Peshawar to play and train, 13 hours away.

"Within their region they have to travel at least eight to ten hours to reach from one point to the other. I can assure the talent is there. If they can beat any bigger team like Lahore and big departments - it means they have something in them."

The PCB had a plan, three years ago, to unearth the talent from the FATA region. Shahid Afridi grew up in Karachi but he was born in Khyber Agency. Younis Khan was born in Mardan, a major hub of the Yousafzai tribe. In the recent past the number of players from the northern regions of Pakistan has been growing - Junaid Khan, Mohammad Rizwan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imran Khan jr, Yasir Shah and Imran Khan have played for the country.

"Geographically the region is very big but scattered all over and many players from the area had been adjusted into either Peshawar or Abbottabad previously," Shafiq Ahmed, PCB domestic manager, told ESPNcricinfo. "But cricket in recent years has been getting popular and many cricketers from that part of the area couldn't make into the top team and remained deprived, hence we converted them into an independent region to cover the major chunk of the northern side.

"Also, we understand the boys coming from that part of the region are physically fit and fulfilling the basic requirement of fitness. Since we have given them the regional status we have been monitoring them closely and the results are encouraging. We have selected their young boys at under-16 and under-19 to connect them with the national circuit. Since the shorter version is the most popular these days, they are the right ones to adapt to the format easily."

Ahmed said fitness had been the major concern for Pakistan and players from FATA could help improve that. "Unfortunately, fitness has been the main concern … but players from the FATA region are rough, tough and are mentally very strong, so we can get the best fit players from the region. In the last three years we have seen the players are stepping up in the game as well, after being physically fit.

"We understand they are not getting the conditions and environment back home because of the reported law and order situation but they have the potential and they are improving rapidly."

The facilities in FATA are poor and the PCB has offered the locals umpire and referee courses so that they can officiate in games, because no one from Punjab and Sindh is willing to stand in games in the region. There is a local tournament arranged by Cadet College Razmak for their students, but the PCB does not own a single cricket facility in the region.

"It's not the PCB's responsibility to get them a ground as it's the duty of their districts and cricket board to give them the required technical assistance and provide them the ground equipment," Ahmed said. "Unfortunately since [international] teams are not touring Pakistan, which brings down the expenditure on infrastructure and development, otherwise we have done a lot in past."