Thank you, Sri Lanka!
Today is indeed a big day for sports in Pakistan
Today is indeed a big day for sports in Pakistan: Test cricket is making a comeback to the country after more than a decade. Weather permitting, the cricket-mad Pakistani nation is all set to see their national heroes in action on their own soil in a five-day international game just today. The first game of the two-Test rubber, scheduled in Pindi Cricket Stadium from today, has been chosen to honour cricket legend Javed Miandad and Sri Lanka’s first Test skipper Bandula Warnapura who have been invited to the venue as special guests.
Terrorism has had its disastrous toll on almost everything in Pakistan. How could sports have an escape? And being the most popular sport in the country, it is cricket that took the severest hit. The terrorist act of March 3, 2009 in Lahore was rare in that it targeted our foreign guests — the visiting Sri Lankan cricketers. Even though we were — very fortunately — able to protect our guests, the incident was enough to scare foreign sportsmen away from Pakistan. And thus a drought of top cricket in the country for years and years.
The receding tide of terrorism in the country over the past few years, coupled with heightened security for visiting dignitaries, did manage to pull some foreign teams — include Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, West Indies, and an ICC World XI — to play limited-overs games in Pakistan. Besides, the Pakistan Super League, which is mostly played in the UAE, has also seen a few games contested in the host country. But Sri Lanka’s has been the first full-fledged international team to have graced the hitherto-deserted cricket venues in Pakistan.
The PCB’s efforts for the revival of cricket in all its formats in Pakistan are commendable. However, it is Sri Lanka that deserves true applause. We, as a nation, should be thankful to the government of Sri Lankan and the cricket authorities there for helping us in our efforts for cricket revival on our home soil. Thank you, Sri Lanka!
Published in The Express Tribune, December 11th, 2019.
Terrorism has had its disastrous toll on almost everything in Pakistan. How could sports have an escape? And being the most popular sport in the country, it is cricket that took the severest hit. The terrorist act of March 3, 2009 in Lahore was rare in that it targeted our foreign guests — the visiting Sri Lankan cricketers. Even though we were — very fortunately — able to protect our guests, the incident was enough to scare foreign sportsmen away from Pakistan. And thus a drought of top cricket in the country for years and years.
The receding tide of terrorism in the country over the past few years, coupled with heightened security for visiting dignitaries, did manage to pull some foreign teams — include Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, West Indies, and an ICC World XI — to play limited-overs games in Pakistan. Besides, the Pakistan Super League, which is mostly played in the UAE, has also seen a few games contested in the host country. But Sri Lanka’s has been the first full-fledged international team to have graced the hitherto-deserted cricket venues in Pakistan.
The PCB’s efforts for the revival of cricket in all its formats in Pakistan are commendable. However, it is Sri Lanka that deserves true applause. We, as a nation, should be thankful to the government of Sri Lankan and the cricket authorities there for helping us in our efforts for cricket revival on our home soil. Thank you, Sri Lanka!
Published in The Express Tribune, December 11th, 2019.