IT has taken time, much effort and a lot of convincing but when Australia arrive for their tour of Pakistan next month, it will be a watershed moment for the revival of international cricket in the country.

Since international cricket returned to Pakistan in 2015, six years after that unfortunate attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore, a smattering of teams have toured the country. But they certainly don’t get bigger — and better — than Australia; and a full-strength Australia at that.

Almost the entire Australian squad that trounced England to win the Ashes will be travelling for the three-match Test series, which starts with the first game in Rawalpindi. Similarly, their full-strength limited-overs squad featuring players who won the Twenty20 World Cup last year — beating Pakistan in the semi-finals en route to winning the title — is expected for the three one-day matches and the lone T20 in Australia’s first tour of the country since 1998.

It will be the first time since early 2006 that a member of cricket’s proverbial Big Three will visit the country after England withdrew from their tour last year and the successful hosting of the upcoming series will burnish Pakistan’s credentials as an international venue. England are also due to tour Pakistan later this year.

To make the Australia tour successful though, the Pakistan Cricket Board will need to keep its word of improving the fan experience. With Covid-19 restrictions easing, it is expected that stadiums will be at full capacity for the matches. The PCB failed to pull in the crowds during the three-match T20 series against the West Indies in December. While the lack of star power in the touring team did contribute to the fans not turning up, PCB chairman Ramiz Raja admitted that the hindrances faced by cricket enthusiasts in even reaching Karachi’s National Stadium were too many. Pakistan’s cricket fans have yearned for long for this moment to arrive. Now it has to be ensured they are part of it.

Published in Dawn, February 16th, 2022