A Lahore Qalandars' fan tries to be a Pakistan version of Ben Dunk

The Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2020 faced an untimely end. The tournament went through changes in the schedule due to the outbreak of coronavirus. Initially, the call of having the matches behind the doors was taken. Then, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) decided to reduce the number of matches from 34 to 33. The four-match playoff was swapped with two semifinals and one final. The final date was pushed from 22 March to 18 March.

All these attempts didn’t help the board to finish the league. In the wake of the widespread of Coronavirus, PCB had to call off the tournament. No winners were declared and the tournament was supposedly postponed. This was the first time the tournament was entirely held in Pakistan.

This year’s PSL was good for one side though. Lahore Qalandars reached the knockout stages for the first time. Until this season, they were the only side to not have qualified for business end ever. The success of Lahore was built upon a refreshed squad with new faces. Sohail Akhtar led the side from the front while key members of the squad stepped in. One of them was Ben Dunk. The Australian wicket-keeper batsman had a good season with the bat and the gloves.

A fan pays tribute to Ben Dunk on the streets in Pakistan

During his stay at the franchise, Ben Dunk became a fan favourite in the city of Lahore. Recently a fan who has a certain facial similarity with the Australian batsman decided to pay tribute to him. In the video uploaded on Twitter, once can see the man wearing the Qalandars’ jersey and riding on a bike.

In the middle of the traffic, he stops his bike and gets down with a bat. He goes to the front and does a little shadow-batting imitating the left-handed Ben Dunk.

@bendunk51 this Pakistani version is incomplete with out # bubble gum pic.twitter.com/ObVMXytgJ8

— AamirA89 (@A89Aamir) March 18, 2020

In seven innings, the 33-year-old batsman scored 266 runs with two fifties. His batting average was 53.20 while his strike rate was 186. His 23 sixes were the most by any batsman in the tournament.

Ben Dunk had two scores of above 90. His 93-run knock against Quetta Gladiators was sensational. He then followed it up with an unbeaten 99 against Karachi Kings in a difficult run chase. Dunk returned to Australia right after the cancellation and is expected to return if the knockouts happen later this year.