Pakistan cricket: From days of isolation to hosting mega-event

March 03, 2009, will be remembered as the day when sporting activities took an untimely exit from the land of pure.

The visiting Sri Lankan cricket team’s bus was attacked by as many as 12 terrorists near the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore as they were en-route to play the third day of the second Test against the home team.

That attack left many dead and seriously injured, including an umpire and a few visiting players.

Due to the heroics of the bus driver, the players safely managed to exit the scene and were eventually airlifted from the stadium.

That day continued to haunt Pakistan cricket for a decade or even more as authorities remained in a crisis-control situation to elevate and enhance its reputation at the global level. The motive was simple, to convince the rest of the cricketing world that things have changed for good.

As an immediate outcome, the Pakistan cricket team had to adopt a makeshift home away from home in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to host international matches.

This scenario was unprecedented and not a comfortable one to handle but as they say, time is a great healer, it proved here as well.

With time and sheer hard work of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) along with law and enforcement agencies, things started to head towards normality as several teams visited the country to play different formats.

The coronavirus pandemic once again left the country’s sport in a state of turmoil but as we’ve shown time and again, Pakistan cricket will bounce back with more enthusiasm than ever.

At this stage, we should not forget our real friends, whom we owe a sense of gratitude. The likes of Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, West Indies and South Africa put their hand up and visited the country where many doubted what we were offering.

This goes without saying if not for the countries mentioned above, Pakistan cricket may not have stood on its feet as it has now.

Any team that would’ve not been able to play cricket on their home soil for nearly a decade would’ve dearth of talent to choose from, but Pakistan is different. We kept producing players to compete with the best, often beating them at their venues, lifting major titles and whatnot.

Despite all the adversities, it is visible that Pakistan cricket appears to be again on the horizon, raising the bar to assert its presence regardless of the opposition.

A true example of Pakistan cricket’s current trajectory was the display during the recently concluded International Cricket Council (ICC) T20 World Cup in the UAE.

It was nothing short of a miraculous performance, with little or no room for the oppositions to breath. It was the best that any team could’ve dreamed of.

Winning against all opponents in the round-robin stage was something not many would’ve expected. Thrashing arch-rivals India for the first time in an ICC world event was heart-warming, to say the least. It was a statement for the rest of the teams participating that this group of players means business.

Then dismantling New Zealand — who ended up as the runners up — was not a small feat as well.

If not for a momentarily lapse against the Kangaroos in the semi-finals, it seemed certain that Pakistan would have been the worthy winners.

Cricket is a funny sport and the T20 format is cruel. In fact, rarely any team get a chance to redeem themselves if they do not bowl according to a plan or drop a

catch at a crucial juncture, something the Men-in-Green would’ve learned this time around as they saw Australia crawl back and knocked them out from the competition in the semis.

The story for team Pakistan in the ICC T20 World Cup was a painful one but what must be appreciated here is the effort.

It will be unfair to not mention how Babar Azam has grown into the captaincy role during the last few months. During the mega-event, it was clear that the team Pakistan seemed to have gelled and moulded itself into a world-beating side under his leadership.

Not only does the 27-year-old lead from the front but he has a unit to be proud of where ever-depended Mohammad Rizwan hardly lets you down, Fakhar Zaman and Asif Ali bring the much-needed flair, veterans such as Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik contribute when the chips are down and Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf and Hasan Ali give the feel of 90s when Pakistani seamers used to dismantle the opposition’s batting line up with sheer pace and aggression.

The whitewash of Bangladeshis in their home conditions—where the Tigers have outclassed Australia and New Zealand in the recent past—was an outstanding achievement, another testament as to how far the players have come under the captaincy of Babar.

In a matter of months, things turned upside down for Pakistan cricket, something that is hardly an anomaly anymore when it comes to dealing with the Shaheens in the world of sports.

From a painful rejection of the New Zealand Cricket (NZC) to play limited-overs series in Pakistan—on an alleged threat—and England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) pulling out of the tour at the very last moment citing the mental state of the players, the PCB has put up a strong case which paid the dividend.

It started with the announcement for the home Test and T20I series against Australia, which was followed by hosting the West Indies team for a T20I series despite some of their players testing positive for Covid-19.

That’s not it as the PCB have also managed to negotiate a series reschedule with the NZC and ECB—which the new management under the leadership of Ramiz Raja must receive a lot of appreciation for—and it also paved the way for the country to be awarded the hosting rights of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, first mega-event in nearly three decades.

Those developments feel nothing short of a miracle where once again in the time of adversity, we came together and rose to the challenge.

From the time of isolation, now it feels that Pakistan cricket will once again have a full home season hosting international teams and giving the fans something to cherish.

It’s time to keep your fingers crossed.

Qamar Ahmed profile:

Played first-class cricket for Sindh, Hyderabad & captained them. Covered 450 Tests,740 ODI’S including 9 World Cups out of 12.Reported Tests for BBC,

REUTERS, AFP, THE TIMES, THE Telegraph, The Guardian, Dawn.World Cup commentator 1992 for TVNZ

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