'Awwal Number' - Pakistan Interior Minister's inspiration? | PCB | Amir Khan | Dev Anand | Cricket |

Описание: The convergence of roles held by Mohsin Naqvi today has sparked an interesting pop-culture parallel with Hindi cinema, particularly Dev Anand’s 1990 film Awwal Number. In the film, the legendary Dev Anand plays a powerful, almost prophetic character — a senior police officer (often described as DCP/Commissioner) who is simultaneously the head of the Cricket Board. At a time when cricket, national security and politics intersect dramatically in the storyline, his character stands at the crossroads of law enforcement and sports administration.
Fast-forward to real life, and Mohsin Naqvi’s dual responsibility as Pakistan’s Interior Minister and Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) mirrors that cinematic imagination in a striking way. While Awwal Number was a fictional thriller dealing with terrorism threats during a high-profile cricket series, its underlying idea — that cricket in South Asia is inseparable from national security and state power — feels remarkably contemporary.
Dev Anand’s character symbolised authority, discipline and national pride, portraying cricket not merely as a sport but as a matter of state interest. Similarly, Naqvi’s appointment to both roles reflects how deeply cricket is embedded in governance, public sentiment and international optics in Pakistan. Though purely coincidental, the resemblance highlights how cinema often anticipates reality in South Asia, where cricket administratorship and state power frequently overlap.
What once seemed dramatic fiction has, decades later, become an intriguing real-world parallel — reinforcing cricket’s unique status as more than just a game.