Virat Kohli
Big respite for Virat Kohli fan arrested for hoisting India flag in PakistanReuters

Call it some kind of a coincidence or just pure luck, but the bail plea of jailed Virat Kohli fan Umar Draz being accepted just ahead of the unmissable India vs Pakistan match in the Asia Cup T20 2016 does bring about a lot of smiles.

Pakistan newspaper Dawn reported Saturday the Okara Additional District and Sessions court admitted Draz's bail plea Friday, but the Pakistani national will only be given bail if he submits a surety bond worth Rs 50,000.

The decision was announced after the Additional District and Sessions Court examined all the police and the judicial case files and heard the arguments of both sides.

The 22-year-old cricket-lover, a tailor by profession, saw his bail plea rejected by local magistrate Aneeq Anwer Feb. 18, but got his bail plea accepted just ahead of the Feb. 27 India vs Pakistan game.

Draz hoisted the Indian flag on the roof of his house on India's Republic Day this year as a sign of support for the Indian Cricket Team, who were playing their first game of a bilateral T20 series in Australia.

A complaint thereafter saw the police swiftly raiding his home in the Okara district of the Punjab province, situated about 200 km from Lahore. Draz was sent to police custody immediately and was charged under Sections 123-A and 16 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

And after a couple of days, he was sent to jail for "treason", which carries a rigorous 10-year imprisonment term if he is convicted.