For the cricket team and the new comers, this visit is a timely opportunity to prove themselves yet again
LAHORE: The Sri Lankan cricket board has recently announced that its team will be visiting Pakistan in the month of September for a match. It is highly appreciative of the team who despite facing a deadly terrorist attack back in 2009 is willing to visit the country again, especially when international cricket in Pakistan is struggling to revive and the country is in a desperate urge and need to have international teams play in the country.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), along with the law-enforcement agencies, must ensure foolproof security measures across the cities which could possibly host the team, as revival of international cricket majorly depends upon Sri Lankan cricket team’s visit. On the political front, the Pakistani government must make efficient use of the cricket diplomacy to strengthen its ties with other states. The team’s visit is also likely to be a test of the newly appointed renowned journalist Najam Sethi’s acumen, whose appointment received a mixed response from the cricket fraternity, regardless of him organising the massively successful Pakistan Super League.
As for the cricket team and the new comers, this visit is a timely opportunity to prove themselves yet again in front of international media. This visit will give the PCB an opportunity to devise effective strategy to approach other teams who have previously turned down a tour due to security concerns.
Saad Iqbal
Published in The Express Tribune, August 16th, 2017.
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