KARACHI: Legendary batsman Javed Miandad on Wednesday said Sri Lankan team’s upcoming tour to Lahore for the last T20 gave a clear message to the world that Pakistan had come out victorious from the menace of terrorism as international cricket returned to the country. Pakistan will play three T20s against Sri Lanka, with the first and second to be played on Thursday and Friday, respectively, at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi. The final T20 will be staged at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Sunday (October 29).
Miandad said Sri Lanka’s tour to Pakistan, which had been a victim of terrorism in 2009 in Lahore, was a great achievement for Pakistan cricket. “The Gaddafi Stadium was seen jam packed in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) final and the Independence Cup matches between World XI and Pakistan, which shows our nation was starved for international cricket from a long time,” he said.
Miandad said no country was safe from the menace of terrorism but the security situation in Pakistan had improved. “I urge international teams to come here and play as Pakistan is a safe and sports loving nation which has great respect and love for humanity,” he said. Speaking about Pakistan-Sri Lanka T20 series, Miandad said Pakistan showed superb performance sealing a 5-0 clean sweep in the ODI series against Sri Lanka. “My advice to Pakistan team is to forget the past (ODI series win) and just focus on the T20 series now,” he said. He said each player’s top priority should be to improve their physical fitness and performance in order to groom themselves. “Cricket is the bread and butter of players and you can only stay in the game by performing well,” he said.
Published in Daily Times, October 26th 2017.