Sports: the one thing that has been a constant in my life. From playing cricket on the roof at the tender age of 7 to being the Captain of JBS’s current cricket team, my passion for sports, especially cricket never faded. As a kid growing up in a joint family, cricket was that one bonding activity where my father, uncles, and all cousins would come together almost daily to play. During my school days, I even went for trials but backed out in the end and played hockey for a part of my life. Starting college, I was introduced to table tennis and badminton as well. Many of the friendships and memories I made through sports, especially cricket have stood the tests of time and I am still in touch with some of those people.

I was a rather rebellious and naughty kid. I distinctly remember this particular neighbor from our flats who didn’t like us playing and even slapped me once for talking back to him. Which of course made an 8-year-old seek revenge and so every time he would pass through the door, I’d lock the door on him. Back in the 2000s, I was also one of the core members the of Ministry of Entertainment, Government of JBL, an informal group that exists to date even though many teammates have retired or moved to different places now.

It’s a funny story as to how I ended up at JBS. I had no plans to move towards IT sales given that I wanted to move towards FMCGs but after my MBA, when it was time for me to apply for jobs, a friend told me to apply at Jaffer among the many places. Even at that time, Jaffer was a very big name so I considered it, and once I was here, I never left. While the 80’s and 90’s presented the lubricious opportunity to move abroad, I chose to stay in Pakistan because I felt I had everything here and I could not bear the thought of being without my close and extended family. However, when I got married and had kids, I did start to wish that Pakistan had the security and standard of living that other countries have.

There are two things that have particularly stayed with me throughout my life: being content with what I have and staying true to my roots.