Re: Interesting Pics posted by Raju
GOOD LORD! mein kahan phans gaya!!! 
**Yes–my younger sister’s son UMAIR QAZI now a lawyer and working in England, is an ardent cricket fan and when Brian and myself became friends during Sharjah COKE trophy-19999 (Oct)… he wished to gift his ‘play’ bat to me as I had lended him a CROSS ball pen when he had to sign off the team name list before that ODI with Pakistan..as he was looking for one and I was standing next to him with Amer Suhail and Shoaib Malik. When he wasreturning the pen I told him to keep it as a gift from me. He said he cant do that as its expensive pen and I told him not as great a cricketer he is..he smiled and accepted it. Next morning while at buffet breakfast at the hotel the teams/management were staying, I met Brian and we sat on the same table and discussed lot of cricketing interests then he told me that he would like to visit my suite and gift me something. The next day..he came over and presented me his burgundy play shirt with his sign off and his bat and asked for a marker to autograph it..and it was at that moment I requested him to *mention *Umair’s name..and he did by stating UMAIR–Raju’s nephew . Umair left the bat with me..and I have it with me and occasionally I play with it too. A lot of people have offered staggering amount–as high as 50k to purchase this bat…which is out of question and when Brian was in Pakistan for TESTS & ODI I met him at PC-Karachi and at Qaddafi-Lahore and at Karachi I took him & Chanderpaul for Sabri’s NIHARI even. He re-autographed the same bat I took to PC-K.
That’s the story of that autograph on BCL’s play bat. I am still in touch with him via emails…
Khush Rahein…
-Raju Uncle