A welcome move

A more professional approach must be adopted by Islamabad with possibly help from the armed forces to ensure security

In a much welcome statement during the Asian Cricket Council’s meeting in Colombo recently, Sri Lanka Cricket president Thilanga Sumathipala told his audience that he was keen to take the Sri Lankan team to Pakistan and play at least one of the three Twenty20 games in September in Lahore. He remembered how his country at one time suffered through three decades of terrorism and war and at one stage no one wanted to visit the island. It was in those days that Pakistan stood by Sri Lanka and now this gesture, he said, had to be reciprocated. These are warm words and need to be welcomed because Pakistani cricket fans have been deprived of seeing their favourite players in action on home ground for almost a decade. One cannot forget that it was these same sentiments that brought the Sri Lankan team to Pakistan in 2009 but the team was unfortunately attacked by gunmen in Lahore. Since then, Pakistan has had one international tour from Zimbabwe and the home team has had to play most of its home matches in the UAE.

The statement by the Sri Lankan cricket chief also suggests that the international perception of Pakistan being an unsafe place for visiting sports teams is now gradually changing. There have been moves in other sports as well to bring international teams into the country. Most recently there was a series of exhibition matches by leading international footballers and these were hosted very successfully. Given this, it is time for the Pakistan Cricket Board to work towards hosting some matches at home. The first can indeed be the match proposed by the Sri Lankan side. We are already hoping to host an ICC World XI in September. In all this, the Pakistan government and cricket board must play a proactive role and ensure that nothing is left to chance. A more professional approach must be adopted by Islamabad with possibly help from the armed forces to ensure that foolproof arrangements are in place for the coming season.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 15^th, 2017.

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