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Former Australian captain Ian Chappell says it’s time for cricketing nations to “bite the bullet” and resume tours to Pakistan.
In the wake of the highly successful conclusion to the Pakistan Super League, which saw international players including Australia’s Shane Watson and England’s Alex Hales visit the nation for matches in Karachi, calls are growing for more teams to play in the cricket-starved nation.
Following the 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore, no international side toured Pakistan until 2015, with only intermittent visits since then.
Australia hasn’t played in Pakistan since 1998, choosing instead to play at neutral venues in the Middle East. The one-day series starting tonight will be played in Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
Chappell, who was “pleasantly surprised” when he visited Islamabad in 2017, says it would be a major boost to the game in Pakistan if teams resumed touring.
“The way the world is at the moment, you could stop touring pretty well everywhere,” Chappell told Wide World of Sports.
“After what we’ve just seen in Christchurch, it could happen anywhere, although obviously we hope it doesn’t.
“I think we’ve now moved beyond just having a conversation about playing in Pakistan, someone has to bite the bullet and just do it.
“Pakistan are desperate to get cricket back there, as they should be. If the kids aren’t seeing their heroes on the field it’s not going to help the game in Pakistan, and the feeling I got from Pakistan people is they would go out of their way to make sure things are OK.”
Chappell’s views are echoed by former Australian batsman Dean Jones, who was in Karachi last week as coach of Islamabad United in the PSL.
“The people are fantastic. They need international cricket,” Jones told Wide World of Sports.
“The game needs it, the country needs it. They’ve got a Prime Minister who is a World Cup winning captain. They need the money that comes with hosting cricket to put back into the game.
“Lahore needs a new ground, and Karachi needs a refurbishment, and the only way they can do that is to play cricket there. The pitches are fantastic, the grounds are great for cricket, but some of the spectator facilities need upgrading.”
Jones was blown away by the interest in Karachi, with the PSL staging eight matches there in the space of eight days, including the final. Capacity crowds of 30,000 were the norm at the National Stadium, with more than 230,000 fans flocking to the matches.
“They were all sell-outs. The interest is ridiculous, it’s off the scale. It’s huge,” Jones said.
“The big names are there, the standard of cricket is very good. The PSL is one of the reasons Pakistan is ranked number one in the world in T20 cricket.”
Former West Indian captain Darren Sammy said Pakistan “is ready for more cricket” after the PSL final, describing the atmosphere as “electric”, while ICC boss David Richardson says the success of the tournament has “changed the perception” of Pakistan.
"I know some security officials from Australia and other countries have come to see the matches here,” Richardson said.
“Step by step, certainly, Pakistan is on the right path and 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.”
Sri Lanka is reportedly considering playing two Test matches in Pakistan later this year, while Bangladesh could tour in 2020.
While Jones welcomes the possibility of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh visiting Pakistan, he says only the biggest nations can bring about real change.
“They need some of the superpowers to tour, there’s no doubt about it,” he said.
“India obviously won’t go there, but they need Australia or England to tour there and play a series.
“Each player should do their own research, but when I’ve been there I haven’t had a problem.
“I’m sure Cricket Australia would do their due diligence in relation to security, but Pakistan is doing all the right things, they’re ticking all the right boxes.”
https://wwos.nine.com.au/cricket/au...an-jones/9aa0fc31-8081-45ea-85f8-7ef870534bae
In the wake of the highly successful conclusion to the Pakistan Super League, which saw international players including Australia’s Shane Watson and England’s Alex Hales visit the nation for matches in Karachi, calls are growing for more teams to play in the cricket-starved nation.
Following the 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore, no international side toured Pakistan until 2015, with only intermittent visits since then.
Australia hasn’t played in Pakistan since 1998, choosing instead to play at neutral venues in the Middle East. The one-day series starting tonight will be played in Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
Chappell, who was “pleasantly surprised” when he visited Islamabad in 2017, says it would be a major boost to the game in Pakistan if teams resumed touring.
“The way the world is at the moment, you could stop touring pretty well everywhere,” Chappell told Wide World of Sports.
“After what we’ve just seen in Christchurch, it could happen anywhere, although obviously we hope it doesn’t.
“I think we’ve now moved beyond just having a conversation about playing in Pakistan, someone has to bite the bullet and just do it.
“Pakistan are desperate to get cricket back there, as they should be. If the kids aren’t seeing their heroes on the field it’s not going to help the game in Pakistan, and the feeling I got from Pakistan people is they would go out of their way to make sure things are OK.”
Chappell’s views are echoed by former Australian batsman Dean Jones, who was in Karachi last week as coach of Islamabad United in the PSL.
“The people are fantastic. They need international cricket,” Jones told Wide World of Sports.
“The game needs it, the country needs it. They’ve got a Prime Minister who is a World Cup winning captain. They need the money that comes with hosting cricket to put back into the game.
“Lahore needs a new ground, and Karachi needs a refurbishment, and the only way they can do that is to play cricket there. The pitches are fantastic, the grounds are great for cricket, but some of the spectator facilities need upgrading.”
Jones was blown away by the interest in Karachi, with the PSL staging eight matches there in the space of eight days, including the final. Capacity crowds of 30,000 were the norm at the National Stadium, with more than 230,000 fans flocking to the matches.
“They were all sell-outs. The interest is ridiculous, it’s off the scale. It’s huge,” Jones said.
“The big names are there, the standard of cricket is very good. The PSL is one of the reasons Pakistan is ranked number one in the world in T20 cricket.”
Former West Indian captain Darren Sammy said Pakistan “is ready for more cricket” after the PSL final, describing the atmosphere as “electric”, while ICC boss David Richardson says the success of the tournament has “changed the perception” of Pakistan.
"I know some security officials from Australia and other countries have come to see the matches here,” Richardson said.
“Step by step, certainly, Pakistan is on the right path and 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.”
Sri Lanka is reportedly considering playing two Test matches in Pakistan later this year, while Bangladesh could tour in 2020.
While Jones welcomes the possibility of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh visiting Pakistan, he says only the biggest nations can bring about real change.
“They need some of the superpowers to tour, there’s no doubt about it,” he said.
“India obviously won’t go there, but they need Australia or England to tour there and play a series.
“Each player should do their own research, but when I’ve been there I haven’t had a problem.
“I’m sure Cricket Australia would do their due diligence in relation to security, but Pakistan is doing all the right things, they’re ticking all the right boxes.”
https://wwos.nine.com.au/cricket/au...an-jones/9aa0fc31-8081-45ea-85f8-7ef870534bae
