Pakistan step up efforts to host international cricket

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Islamabad: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has struggled to convince many nations it is safe to visit since 2009, when gunmen attacked a bus carrying Sri Lankan cricketers.

The issue of terrorism and player safety remains at the forefront of administrators and players’ minds, especially following the recent attack in Christchurch that Bangladesh’s national team narrowly escaped.

But the successful hosting of the final eight games of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) in Karachi, where Australian allrounder Shane Watson starred, has the PCB upbeat that countries will review their refusal.

International Cricket Council chief executive Dave Richardson struck a supportive note while Watson noted “it’s incredibly special to be able to play in front of incredible atmosphere and fans”.

Watson was among the international stars who refused to play the PSL games in Pakistan during the previous year.

Australia, who start a five-match ODI series against Pakistan in Sharjah on Friday, are next slated to tour Pakistan in 2022.

It means Cricket Australia (CA) will not ponder whether it is safe to visit for some time but the PCB is already in talks with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh about possible tours during the next 12 months.

“They’ve done a tremendous job and the level of comfort is growing all the time among the foreign players,” Richardson said.

“I know some security officials from Australia and other countries have come to see the matches here.

“I know that the PCB will be redoubling their efforts to encourage people and teams to come across and certainly it will be with the ICC’s support.

“The perception outside of Pakistan was that it was quite a dangerous place to visit in the past and that perception, slowly but surely, has been changed through the good work that has been done.”

Tim Paine, George Bailey and Ben Cutting were part of a World XI that travelled to Pakistan in 2017.

Opinion about the issue is understood to be mixed in the Australian dressing room but players will ultimately rely on CA to make a final call.

The current advice of Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is for citizens to “reconsider your need to travel” to Pakistan because of the “high level of risk”.

Captain Aaron Finch, speaking earlier this year, noted it would be “great to get cricket back in Pakistan”.

“The passion their fans have got and just the amount of fans … (compared to) some pretty empty stadiums in the UAE,” Finch said.