Daily Times

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday claimed the return of international cricket to the country, with three separate sides scheduled to visit after years of isolation over security concerns. A World XI tour kicks off in September followed by a short visit by Sri Lanka for a Twenty20 match in October, then a Twenty20 series against the West Indies a month later. Addressing a press conference here, PCB chairman Najam Sethi said that 15 players from seven countries had agreed to visit Pakistan as part of the World XI squad set to play a three-match T20 series in Lahore next month. “I will confirm the names of players within 72 hours,” he said. World XI’s visit is an initiative taken by International Cricket Council’s Pakistan task force chairman Giles Clarke in collaboration with the PCB. On June 24, following the conclusion of its annual meeting in London, the ICC had announced that plans for World XI to be held in Pakistan later this year were “continuing to be developed”. The ICC board had agreed to support a three-game Twenty20 series between Pakistan and a World XI side in a bid to help revive international cricket in the country.

“Players from England, New Zealand, West Indies, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe have agreed to play the World XI tournament in Pakistan. India, however, has declined to send its players,” said Sethi. Former Zimbabwe captain Andy Flower, who will coach the World XI, has been assigned to select the squad for the tour, which is financially supported by the ICC. “A security team from ICC will visit Pakistan at the end of this month to view our security plans,” Sethi said, adding that the Punjab government had given the PCB a green signal for the implementation of the plan. “This is a very big thing. September, October and November are big months. It’s a big agenda. We are getting positive signals and the doors of international cricket are opening on Pakistan,” Sethi maintained.

The tours are seen as a big step towards Pakistan once again hosting major international outfits after militants targeted the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore in 2009, killing eight people and wounding at least seven players. Since the attacks Pakistan has only hosted a limited-over series against Zimbabwe in 2015 while Bangladesh, the West Indies, Sri Lanka and Ireland turned down offers over security fears. Pakistan has also been forced to play their cricket in the UAE for the past eight years including two editions of the Pakistan Super League Twenty20 (PSL). The Zimbabwe series in 2015 finally revived international cricket in the country, but was marred by a bomb blast during the second ODI, 800 metres from the Gaddafi Stadium, which killed two people.

But security has dramatically improved across Pakistan in the last two years, signalling hopes for the slow revival of international sport in the country. In March, Pakistan successfully hosted the PSL final in Lahore with English players Dawid Malan and Chris Jordan, West Indies’ Darren Sammy and Marlon Samuels and South Africa’s Morne van Wyk and Zimbabwe’s Sean Ervine competing. The match’s success pushed the PCB to expedite efforts to convince more teams to play in Pakistan.

The key to Pakistan’s future as a viable host will lie in those three World XI games. If they go off without incident, Sethi said that it would pave the way for more countries to tour. Last week the Sri Lanka Cricket chairman Thilanga Sumathipala revealed that he was eager for Sri Lanka to play a T20 in Lahore as part of their tour. “We will play a full series with Sri Lanka in the UAE after which Sri Lanka will come to Lahore for a Twenty20, so things are shaping up.” Sethi also said that the PCB was in advanced discussions with Cricket West Indies (CWI) about a series of T20 games in late November in Lahore. “That tour will be subject to the safe conclusion of ICC World XI team’s three-match series in Lahore in September and affirmation of manageable security by the ICC-sponsored international security company overseeing the security arrangements of the World XI,” Sethi read out a statement from CWI.

When asked why all matches would be played in Lahore, Sethi clarified: “No team is ready to play anywhere else other than Lahore.” The rationale behind this decision stems from the successful organisation of 2017 Pakistan Super League final in Lahore. However, Sethi said that he wanted international cricket to return to Karachi too. “I will meet DG Rangers, Core Commander and CM Sindh when I visit Karachi to discuss the security arrangements if the city is to host international matches,” concluded Sethi.

Published in Daily Times, August 22^nd 2017.