LAHORE: With Zimbabwe cricket squad — putting for a while their security concerns aside — set to arrive in Lahore in the small hours of Tuesday, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and fans hope the African team’s visit for a short limited-overs series would prove a turning point for the international sport-starved country.

Zimbabwe in Pakistan are scheduled to play a couple of Twenty20 Internationals, starting from Friday, followed by three One-day Internationals. All to be staged at the Gaddafi Stadium.

There have been several ifs and buts — security being the prime factor — on the said tour being undertaken by Elton Chigumbura-led Zimbabwe as foreign sports teams have been more than reluctant to tour Pakistan ever since that horrific terror attack on Sri Lankan team bus took place in Lahore in March 2009.

However, a long struggle made by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to convince foreign teams to play on its home soil finally yielded positive result when Zimbabwe recently became the first Test-playing country in six years to accept Pakistan’s invitation to visit.

The ICC, in a lukewarm response to the PCB efforts for reviving international cricket in the country, has employed its prerogative to refuse to appoint match officials for the series, allowed Pakistan to appoint the officials with mutual understanding with Zimbabwe.

Meanwhile, the PCB and the government have completed security arrangements, as a result of which, the PCB headquarters where all the five matches are to be held, has become a no-go area for all, including media. Media has not been allowed to cover the arrival of the Zimbabwe squad.

Stringent security in place

“Zimbabwe cricket squad will be arriving tomorrow morning. No coverage is allowed at the airport. Short footage and pictures will be uploaded at the PCB Twitter. The Zimbabwe team arrival press conference time will be communicated later,” read a PCB communication conveyed to media.

According to a report, 5,000 security personnel from Rangers and police will be deployed in and around the Gaddafi Stadium. The deployment of such a huge security contingent however may not signify a encouraging picture of the venue.

Anyway a significant number of cricket-crazy fans are expected to throng the stadium, many of whom have started to toil to grab tickets. Needless to say, the presence of sizeable crowds at the Gaddafi Stadium will definitely send a positive signal from Pakistan to the rest of the world.

According to a PCB press release, 75 per cent tickets for the first T20 match have been sold.

“With top-notch security arrangements in place, the response from fans has been phenomenal. An estimated 75 per cent of the tickets for the first Twenty20 [against Zimbabwe] on Friday have already been sold and authorities are expecting a full house at the Gaddafi Stadium,” said the PCB media release.

“While residents of Lahore have the opportunity to buy tickets from all branches of Gourmet Bakers, the PCB has also set up two booths to assist general public. These booths have been set up near the hockey stadium and at Liberty market,” added the release.

“Keeping in mind the significance of this tour for fans across the country, the PCB has reached an agreement with the famous online retail network www.daraz.pk and fans can order their match tickets online.

“Together with its valued partners and fans, the PCB is looking forward to welcoming the Zimbabwe squad in Pakistan,” the press release further said.

Meanwhile, 80 close-circuit TV cameras installed by Sports Board Punjab (SBP) at several points of the Nishtar Sports Complex, will be controlled and monitored by security officials.

“Advanced technology has been adopted in installing the CCTV cameras as every spectator sitting in the Gaddafi Stadium or walking around the Nishtar Sports Complex can be zoomed in and identified if the security officials want so, with the help of national data,” SBP director general Usman Anwar told media here on Monday.

In the meantime, the national selection committee, which was in Faisalabad on Monday night witnessing the Super 8 T20 Cup final, will announce the Pakistan squad for the T20 series on Tuesday.

Chief selector Haroon Rasheed told Dawn that after watching the final (which was in progress at the time of filing of this report), the selection committee would be in a much better position to announce a strong team against Zimbabwe.

It is most likely that Umar Akmal (of Lahore Lions) and Shoaib Malik (captain of Sialkot Stallions) will return to the national T20 squad, due to their performances in the Super 8 T20 Cup. While Umar scored 181 in four matches of the event, Shoaib also aggregated 174 in five matches before the final.

On the other hand, opener Ahmed Shehzad, axed from national Test and ODI teams recently due to discipline issues, could not impress with his performance accumulating just 69 runs for the Lions.

Right-handed Nauman Anwar, the upcoming Stallions opener, should attract the selectors’ attention after he exhibited fine consistency to collect 270 runs in five outings of the ongoing national T20 event, including his match-winning 97 in Monday’s final.

Agencies add: Former pacer Sarfraz Nawaz said that this tour would give boost to dying international cricket in the country.

He said that it is a ray of light for Pakistani fans after the side crumbled to a 3-0 whitewash in their one-day series in Bangladesh.

Former Test cricketer Basit Ali said that Zimbabwe’s coming tour shall be the harbinger of more and more cricketing events in the country.

“It’s a very good news for millions of Pakistan fans that international cricket is coming to Pakistan,” former Test captain Rashid Latif said.

“I think it’s a beginning of a new era for Pakistan cricket and many more teams will come after we successfully organise this series.”

Former captain Rameez Raja was of the view that restoration of international cricket in Pakistan would not only give national cricketers a healthy sports environment but also would promote the soft image of Pakistan in international arena.

Former coach national team Mohsin Khan also expressed great joy and hoped that this was going to be the beginning of another great era of Pakistani cricket like that of in the past.

Published in Dawn, May 19th, 2015

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