Daily Times

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has bought four bulletproof buses as it tries to convince other teams to shed their security apprehensions and visit the country. The PCB relies heavily on the government for security arrangements for visiting teams and the bulletproof buses will be an additional safety measure for teams travelling within the city. The PCB hopes the additional measure, first proposed during the chairmanship of Zaka Ashraf in 2012 and sanctioned last year, will help in convincing overseas players and teams to tour Pakistan. Pakistan has largely been shunned by teams since 2009 when gunmen attacked a bus carrying Sri Lankan cricketers, injuring six players and killing six security personnel and two civilians. The incident has forced Pakistan to play their ‘home’ matches at the United Arab Emirates and the country has since remained starved of international cricket at home, barring Zimbabwe’s limited-overs tour in 2015.

“We have bought these four Coaster buses as part of our efforts to revive international cricket in the country,” a PCB spokesperson said Friday. “There will be high expectations from teams willing to visit Pakistan and we want to ensure that we provide them with the best possible arrangements. Having these bulletproof vehicles would play a major part in convincing teams about security arrangements.” The spokesperson said the PCB wanted to host the final of the Pakistan Super League, the inaugural edition of which was held in UAE earlier this year. “We have to have discussions with the overseas players about their safety and security and I think this new addition in our security facilities will definitely give us an edge,” the spokesperson said. “Our ultimate goal is to revive international cricket, and we are doing our best to make sure we can.” The PCB has suffered financially from having to arrange matches in the UAE and from missing out on bilateral series against India. This prompted PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan to suggest that the Pakistan board should receive a “higher percentage of the income” from matches against India at ICC events.