Thanks for the encouragement

As other cricketers too have noted, world cricket will benefit from the return of international cricket in Pakistan

Every little word of encouragement can help the cause of bringing back regular international cricket to Pakistan. Both Paul Collingwood and Ben Cutting, who are part of the World XI squad that will play in the upcoming series against Pakistan in Lahore have voiced hope that the three-match series would be a precursor to likely tours by Sri Lanka and West Indies to our terror-scarred country. As other cricketers too have noted, world cricket stands to benefit from the return of international cricket in Pakistan. The World XI squad consists of players from seven Test-playing nations.

In May 2015, Zimbabwe became the only Test-playing nation to tour Pakistan — six years after all international fixtures were cancelled in the country when gunmen attacked a Sri Lanka team bus and injured some of their players. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is working actively on two fronts: ensuring foolproof security by involving international security experts, and progressively holding Pakistan Super League (PSL) matches in Pakistan with foreign players. The goal, according to the PCB chief, is to create windows of confidence for full series in the coming months. The stakes are high and the international players will receive the kind of security that is usually reserved for a head of state.

Fortunately, we have managed to turn opinions quite a bit within the fraternity of cricketers about the changed security environment in the country. The watershed moment came earlier this year during the successful hosting of the Pakistan Super League final in Lahore. The concept of a World XI tour took shape soon after. Progress has been made step by step so far and one hopes it continues on this trajectory. Now that we have attracted some international players to play on our soil, it would be good if efforts are made to lure supporters of foreign teams to the country as well.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 6^th, 2017.

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