Comment: PCB finally passes the management Test

PCB made sure area surrounding National Stadium wasn't cordoned off completely making it easier for fans to commute


Abdul Majid December 20, 2019
PHOTO: AFP

A rare cheer from two half full, half empty stands, a close-in field, two pacers charging in, Sri Lankan batsmen missing a few and connecting some others, Test cricket’s arrival in Pakistan has entered day two.

Many had doubted that Pakistan will ever be able to successfully host Test matches at home after the 2009 attack, but December 2009 proved everyone wrong, and most of all the team which was attacked proved everyone wrong.

It takes courage to survive a scare, but it takes courage and something more to revive from it and visit the venue of the catastrophe. Sri Lanka, a country known for its fight against extremism, has done just that for Pakistan.



Meanwhile, Pakistan, who were written off and were always doubted when they requested anyone to come to the country to play even T20Is, have now done the impossible. They have shown the world what the country and its people are made of – pure grit and absolute resolve.

Credit goes to the Pakistan Cricket Board, former and current managements both, for fighting for the cricketing fans of the country by trying their best to convince countries to visit the country.

The cricket-hungry crowd, the Pakistanis who have nearly no other sporting entertainment avenues, since cricket is the lone ruler in the country, are now able to satiate their thirst with entertainment-promising T20Is, day-long ODIs and now, finally, with the purest form of the game — Tests.

Many had complained about the road blockages and traffic problems during the T20Is and ODIs, but the return of Test cricket was accompanied by normalcy too.

Apart from the traffic stoppages during players’ travel to and from hotel and stadium, the roads surrounding National Stadium of Karachi, which is situated at a roundabout hence it becomes difficult to manage the security around it, were open for the general public to commute without hassle.

It may seem like a small problem as compared to the other security measures, but cricket at the cost of population’s convenience would’ve hurt PCB in the long-term.

All in all, Sri Lanka is here to play Test cricket right now and sooner than later other cricketing nations will follow suit too, but now the time is right to finally start praising rather than criticising the PCB for bringing cricket back home.

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