Every year, with the arrival of holy month of Ramzan, Karachi -- the city of lights -- finds itself hosting Ramzan Cricket tournaments. Karachiites are continuing this three-decade old tradition this year as well, despite the scorching heat in the city.

This year, Karachi is hosting several Ramzan tournaments, noted among them are being played at Moin Khan Cricket Academy, Rashid Latif Cricket Academy, Aga Khan Gymkhana, Asghar Ali Shah Cricket Stadium, Naya Nazimabad Ground and Karachi Gymkhana.

A part of these major tournaments, at least 20 small level tournaments are also being played in the city. Cricket competitions on city’s streets would increase the tally of Ramzan related tournaments to above fifty.

For many, these Ramzan cricket tournaments are just entertainment, but they provide a good source of income to thousands of people, who, indeed, wait for the start of these traditional tournaments. It is, in fact, this festivity of Ramzan cricket that has become an industry of tens of millions of rupees.

In these tournaments, at least 1500 cricketers from all over country participate. Major clubs and teams pay match fees of 2000 to 5000 per player, depending on the calibre of a certain cricketer. A cricketer, at an average, earns around 70,000 to 150,000 and even more, only by playing in different Ramzan tournaments.

These players also get additional bonuses if the teams they represent win in any tournament. "Everyone is excited about Ramzan cricket tournaments, we all eagerly wait for these tournaments as Ramzan tournaments, along with match practice, also provide bread and butter to many cricketers," says Fawad Alam, who has played 24 T20s, 38 ODIs and three test matches for Pakistan.

"Ramzan tournaments are more important for club level cricketers as they don’t get any other opportunity to earn a handsome amount by playing cricket, so it is a good opportunity for them before Eid," Fawad adds.

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Major teams, like the Karachi-based Omar Associates, participate in every major tournament being played in Karachi, and according to an official of Omar Associates, their Ramzan tournament expenses are around 5 to 10 million.

"We pay handsome amounts to our cricketers, depending on the players’ calibre, then we pay participating fees at different tournaments, which is not less than 200,000 to 300,000 rupees per tournament. We also pay hotel and travel expenses, get kits prepared, pay win bonuses to players. It makes our Ramzan cricket budget around five to six million rupees," says Nadeem of Omar Associates’ cricket team.

Low budget hotels are also among the beneficiaries of Ramzan tournaments in Karachi. Cricketers from other cities come to Karachi and most of them look to low-budget hotels for accommodation during the tournament. At these hotels, room fares start from 2,500 rupees, and at least 50 to 70 rooms are booked at different low budget hotels for the visiting cricketers during the Ramzan tournament.

While most of the cricketers prefer to stay at low-budget hotels, some cricketers wouldn’t compromise on anything less than five-star accommodation, making overall hotel budget during Ramzan tournaments around 3.5 million.

Along with hotels, transport providers are also among those who find Ramzan tournaments as a big opportunity to earn their livelihood. "Our transport budget per match is around 5,000 rupees, and if we play around 40/50 matches per tournament, then our overall transport budget raises to more than Rs. 200,000," informs Basalat Mirza of Candyland team.

These tournaments also provide local scorers, umpires, and referees with an opportunity to earn handsome money before Eid. A match officiating team member (scorer, umpire, or referee) gets at least 45 to 50 matches to officiate during Ramzan.

According to organizers, a scorer would charge rupees 500 to 1000 per match, an umpire usually charges around 1500, to 2000 per match and a match referee usually gets around 2,500 per match during the Ramzan tournament.

"Ramzan cricket tournaments are the identity of Karachi. They have become a good source of income for many people, which is an encouraging sign," says Nadeem Omar who’s also a renowned cricket organizer of Karachi.

Another industry among the beneficiaries of Ramzan tournaments is the cricket kit-providers. "Usually, a kit costs at around Rs1200 to 1600, depending on what type of quality you’re providing to the teams, and at an estimate more than 2500 kits are prepared during Ramzan for different tournaments," says Azam Khan, a cricket organizer from Karachi.

Ramzan tournaments are a good opportunity for different corporate firms for marketing. Several corporate firms are now sponsoring teams, some are sponsoring tournaments, and some of them are aligned with the broadcasters of Ramzan tournaments, and these corporates are injecting a big amount of money during these tournaments.

"Yes, it is a marketing opportunity for us. When we participate in a major tournament, our firm’s name gets flashed on TV, and gets space in the print media, so it is a good marketing opportunity as well," says Basalat Mirza, sports officer of Candyland.

Food suppliers are also the major beneficiaries of Ramzan tournaments. Besides major tournaments, several street cricket activities can also be seen in different localities of the city, providing food-outlets in the neighborhood an opportunity to earn a livelihood.

"When these boys play cricket on the street, they keep coming to my hotel all night till Sehri. My sale of tea and paratha is increased four times, thanks to these street cricketers," says Muhammad Gul, a tea vendor in Karachi’s Nazimabad area.

Rashid Latif, former captain of Pakistan Cricket team, believes that Ramzan cricket tournaments have become a great industry for Pakistan, which is also a good nursery for cricketers.

"From Inzamam ul Haq to Mukhtar Ahmad, every cricketer who has played for Pakistan has learnt the basics of competitive cricket from Ramzan tournaments of Karachi," he says.

"We need to develop Ramzan cricket as a brand. There are countless tournaments being held under different names; it would have been better if all the organisers get together and make one big Ramzan tournament, offering a prize money worth 20 to 50 million," suggests Rashid. "We have people who can really make it happen," he adds.

From players to organisers, Ramzan cricket is a source of income for everyone and according to an estimate, in Karachi it has become an industry worth 100 million rupees.