Daily Times

The highly successful completion of the World XI tour last week was, no doubt, a big leap towards revival of international cricket in the country, which has suffered a dearth of opportunities on home ground since the 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore, save a limited-over series against Zimbabwe in 2015. Even before the 2009 attack, tours to the country had become infrequent with many teams refusing to visit due to security concerns. It is regrettable that political instability and possible security threats had kept cricket suspended for a long period. It was a long and tough journey as the Pakistan Cricket Board, Pakistan players and fans had been starved of the opportunity to stage, play and watch international cricket in their own country.

For the first time in eight years Pakistan hosted an international series of high eminence which in itself was a notable feat. For Pakistani fans, the significance of the World XI series extended beyond the realms of winning or losing. It was a historic coming together of the global cricket community in support of a nation that has contributed mountains to the game. Cricket is a binding force and adds to national unity, it is the identity of Pakistan globally. With the tour, the PCB had an opportunity of making an impact – an impact that could transform our promised future into a tangible future. And the PCB was triumphant. Indeed, it was a milestone of epic proportions!

The visiting team came with an exciting variety of Twenty20 specialists. Led by Faf du Plessis, the team was loaded with star names like Hashim Amla, George Bailey, Darren Sammy, Imran Tahir, Tamim Iqbal, Paul Collingwood, Ben Cutting, Grant Elliott, Samuel Badree, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Thisara Perera and Tim Paine. The staging of this three-match Twenty20 International series has also helped in building confidence of other Test playing nations and it is most likely that Sri Lanka will play a T20I on October 29 in Lahore, at the end of their full series in the United Arab Emirates. A month later Pakistan is also likely to host the West Indies for three Twenty20 matches. All credit of this tour goes to the PCB for its hectic efforts, the World XI players for giving their consent to play in Pakistan, and, above all, the International Cricket Council (ICC), which seriously played its part for cricket revival in Pakistan. The ICC did a tremendous job by supplementing the efforts of the PCB in bringing back international cricket and its role will always be remembered in Pakistan cricket history. Without the all-out support of the ICC it would not have been possible to arrange the tour of World XI.

ICC Task Force on Pakistan Chairman Giles Clarke, ICC Chief Executive Dave Richardson and PCB Chairman Najam Sethi must be complimented who made it sure that the tour must be held. Former Zimbabwe captain Andy Flower, the coach of the World XI, convinced the players from South Africa, New Zealand, England, Sri Lanka, Bangaldesh, West Indies and Australia to tour Pakistan. The Punjab government’s commitment to providing security was also a major factor in the series going off without any serious glitches. The coordination between the local government, the PCB and various security agencies was unprecedented and praiseworthy, with intensive daily briefings at the board’s headquarters in Gaddafi Stadium. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif took a personal interest in affairs, sitting in on several conference calls.

For three days and three nights in Lahore, cricket took the centre stage with more than 60,000 people turning up at Gaddafi Stadium to watch the players they perhaps had seen only on television screens before. Such was the pull of the event that every news channel had made ample room for cricket in the bulletins. While the prices of the tickets were on the higher side – the maximum being Rs.8,000. Lahore had been buzzing with excitement and there was festivity in the air since the World XI team arrived in the wee hours of Monday. The players travelled to play the matches at the historic Gaddafi Stadium in bomb-proof buses with a large contingent of law enforcement agencies overseeing every move. The result did not go in their favour as they lost the series 2-1 after thrilling contests. But cricket was the winner. A decade from now the players and the officials might hark back to this tour and consider it a watershed moment in cricket’s return to Pakistan.

It was also an important occasion for the home team too as five of their players, Fakhar Zaman, Faheem Ashraf, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali and Rumman Raees, played on the home soil for the first time. These young boys deserved to bask in the splendour that was the home crowd; an experience that elevated their confidence markedly. Having recently won a major ICC title, the Pakistan team was more motivated than ever and put up a fantastic show for the crowd. Pakistan played spirited cricket in order to send a message of fearlessness and resilience to the world.

The idea of the World XI tour was mooted a year ago and the Pakistan Super League final in Lahore this year played a huge role in making it happen. Two years ago, the situation wasn’t so good and the ICC or any foreign player didn’t want to risk anything. But with the successful staging of the World XI tour, one can say with assurance that the war against terrorism has been taken to its logical conclusion and that 90-95 percent of terrorism has abated in the country: a sufficient condition to convince the international community in general and the ICC in particular that the situation is safe to play cricket in Pakistan.

First step in that direction was when the PSL final was held in Lahore. PCB chief Sethi fought tooth and nail to have the PSL final in Lahore. Security experts affiliated with various boards and also with the ICC came to the Lahore final and saw for themselves the excellent security arrangements that were in place, and then they went back and gave their reports. All this formed the basis for the World XI tour.

This World XI series will also pave way for more PSL matches being staged at home. Last season, one saw some key players missing the PSL final in Lahore owing to their unwillingness to travel to Pakistan. It is hoped that the upcoming season will grace Pakistan with more fixtures, and a greater number of foreign stars can be a part of the spectacle. The World XI tour was a small step in many ways but a huge step forward for Pakistan. Now one is optimistic of more doors to open. *

Published in Daily Times, September 18^th 2017.