Daily Times

LAHORE: Hosts Pakistan take on wounded Sri Lanka in the third and final Twenty20 International at picturesque Gaddafi Stadium here on Sunday (today). With the series already lost, Sri Lanka seek pride, and Pakistan further domination of a side who were also whitewashed in the one-day international series preceding the 20-over format. The Sri Lankans are due to arrive here in the wee hours of Sunday after playing back-to-back T20s in Abu Dhabi on Thursday and Friday. When Sri Lanka lost the thrilling second T20 by two wickets, it was their 15th consecutive loss in limited-overs matches, having last won a limited overs match in July against Zimbabwe. They have won Tests since then – one against Zimbabwe and two against Pakistan – but have not been able to carry the form in the other formats. If Sri Lanka lose today, it will be their 16th straight defeat in a limited-overs international. The visitors are a young team put together under exceptional circumstances, expected to play against one of the world’s most in-form teams.

Tens of thousands of security personnel are deployed in the city as the men from Pearl Island will become the first major cricket team to visit Pakistan since they were targeted in a deadly ambush in 2009 – with attack survivors among those returning to the scene. The 2009 incident forced Pakistan to play their home matches in the United Arab Emirates and the country has since remained starved of international cricket at home, apart from Zimbabwe’s limited-overs tour in 2015. Playing the final T20I in Lahore should be hailed as a brave decision by Sri Lanka and a milestone for Pakistan as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) attempts to end the country’s sporting isolation.

Several Sri Lankan players and officials, including their head coach, have opted out of the Twenty20 fixture, after voicing concern over security. But Asanka Gurusinha and Hashan Tillakaratne, who came under gunfire in 2009 and are now Sri Lanka’s team manager and batting coach, will be with the squad. Regular skipper Upul Tharanga, Lasith Malinga, Niroshan Dickwella, Dushmantha Chamera, and Akila Dananjaya all have pulled out, as did their South African head coach Nic Pothas and physiotherapist Nirmalan Thanabalasingham. Suranga Lakmal, who still carries the splinter from a bullet wound in his leg, and fellow 2009 survivor Chamara Kapugedara have also stayed away.

Pakistan’s Ahsan Raza, a reserve umpire in 2009 who was among those shot – and needed emergency surgery to repair a collapsed lung and damaged liver – will also be on the field. Eight people were killed and eight wounded in the March 3, 2009 attack on Sri Lanka’s bus convoy near the Gaddafi Stadium, an incident which brought cricket tours to Pakistan screeching to a halt.

The starting time of the match has been brought forward by an hour. Originally, the game was scheduled to commence at 7:00pm but dew factor and the prevailing weather conditions at this time of the year have forced the organisers to begin the match at 6.00pm. All gates for the spectators will be opened at 3.00pm, three hours before the start of the match. The PCB has also planned an opening ceremony at 4:45 pm.

Thousands of security personnel will guard routes to the stadium, and air surveillance and intelligence monitoring is also in place as Pakistan rolls out head-of-state level measures. PCB chairman Najam Sethi has called it a “historic moment”, pointing out that a generation of fans in the cricket-mad country have grown up without seeing any international games in their home stadiums. “Our stadiums have remained empty. Now all that is poised to change, for the better. I foresee a full fledged restoration in the next two years,” he claimed. The PCB is already setting its sights on bringing the West Indies to Pakistan for three T20 internationals next month.

Stand-in skipper Thisara Perera, who played in Lahore last month as part of the World XI team, has praised the security arrangements and said he had no concerns about safety. “I am really satisfied with the security, so no problems in Pakistan,” he said. Less than a year ago, none of this appeared possible for a nation that had largely been shunned by international teams since 2009 due to security risks. Last year, the inaugural Pakistan Super League (PSL), based on the franchise model of the Indian Premier League and Australia’s Big Bash League, became a success though all the matches were played in the UAE. Things changed in March this year when Pakistan hosted the final of its domestic T20 competition featuring high-profile international players.

“Even that baby step seemed an impossibility. I can tell you that none of the franchises wanted it, they were scared … the government was scared… the players were scared,” Sethi said.

The match proved pivotal in changing the global cricket community’s opinion of Pakistan’s ability to host international matches and garnered support from cricket’s governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC).

The months leading up to the final were filled with endless negotiations with the government, persuading domestic franchise owners and convincing players that security was under control. After the PSL final, Sethi went to work on bringing an international World XI to Pakistan with the support of the ICC. An international security company hired by cricket’s world governing body gave Pakistan the green light. Then came the work of assembling a high-profile team for the three-match series. “I said unless and until you give me top quality players, no way,” Sethi said. Once the players were finalised, administrators and fans were thrilled to welcome a star-studded World XI team led by South Africa captain Faf du Plessis.

If the match goes off without incident – given the success of the World XI series, there seems no reason why it shouldn’t – cricket in Pakistan, and by extension, cricket in general, will have made a substantial stride. The most charitable take on this potential advance is to suggest that, having overseen Sri Lanka’s cricket during the island’s own wartime years, Cricket Sri Lanka is sympathetic to Pakistan’s plight. No doubt, in this one-match visit, there is a big element of compassion and respect.

Published in Daily Times, October 29^th 2017.