Message to Pakistan’s Cricket Team on November 5, 1972

It is a matter of great pleasure to be sending off the Pakistan Cricket Team on a tour of Ceylon. Australia and New Zealand. This tour is one more step towards the fulfillment of promise that the People’s Government had made in all fields of national life.

I hope the members of the team realize individually and collectively that the nation is making a sacrifice in sending them on this tour and therefore is justified in expecting nothing but the best from them. They will not only be sportsmen playing the game but also Pakistanis projecting to the world a nation, a country and a way of life.

The team will be playing in countries with whom we have extremely friendly relations. We expect them to foster and promote this friendship. We expect of them excellence in the game. We expect them to play cricket off the field and on the field.

I shall be deeply interested in the team’s performance and shall be following their progress closely. I wish them the best of luck.

Pakistan Paindabad.