Heroes are mostly not privileged, they are born from adversity, baked in the kiln of life till they become unbreakable, hammered into form, shaped into greatness to eventually personify all the honourable traits human beings value.

In the real world, heroes don’t wear capes and fly down from the sky. In our world, heroes are normal beings that transcend beyond their ability courtesy either strong will, or maybe immense hard work and impeccable determination, or maybe all of this and a little more.

Heroes can also be a product of chance; they may face circumstances where they pull off a miracle just because they couldn’t turn their heads away, or maybe they believe so they materialise that belief and turn it into action when they receive the calling. However, not everyone can usher the courage to raise their hands in testing times. There is something inside the best ones that pushes them, something which is a part of their core, something that they had cultivated all their lives, just waiting for the moment.

Heroes are not aliens in our world, doing things which not everyone can do. They usually are a product of a struggle — physical, mental or spiritual. The hard yards they put in makes them stand out of the crowd. Heroes in our world are only human, but they’re better than most because they choose to, because they work for it, because they want something badly, and they are ready to travel the long road for it instead of taking shortcuts.

Heroes are the beacon of hope for coming generations; they set a precedent which everyone then follows. They have the ability of change mind-sets and the power to shape the future of societies for good.

Heroes in Pakistan are cricketers, sportsmen who even trump national sports (hockey) players in terms of popularity.

And our heroes have embarked on a mission to find the missing joy for the residents of a country who are stuck in economic calamity, political uncertainty and are facing systemic and administrative collapses since inception. They are the source of happiness which allows the Pakistanis an escape from their daily rut.

The 220 million strong nation has their eyes affixed on their heroes and they hope the Sarfaraz Ahmed-led contingent doesn’t take no for an answer when they face nine other cricketing giants in the World Cup.

The job at hand will not be easy, actually it never is, but that is what heroes are supposed to do: rise when no one else can, fight when no one else can, and win no matter what it takes to win.

Pakistan has entered the endgame with the tour of England (one-off T20I and five ODIs) starting from May 5. Heroes will rise and everyone else will stand witness that when asked what it will take for Pakistan to win the World Cup, they answered ‘whatever it takes’.