ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Australia’s tour of Pakistan ought to encourage main cricket nations to shed their apprehensions and go to the South Asian nation, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) mentioned on Friday.
Top teams have largely steered away from Pakistan since 2009, when a visiting Sri Lanka staff was ambushed by gunmen in Lahore, in an assault blamed on Islamist militants.
The PCB spent a lot of the final decade attempting to persuade teams to go to Pakistan however suffered a setback when New Zealand and England deserted their excursions final 12 months.
The PCB heaved an enormous sigh of aid on Friday when Australia’s first tour of Pakistan in 24 years received underway in Rawalpindi.
“This tour sends out a robust and a constructive message to your complete world,” PCB chief Faisal Hasnain instructed a information convention forward of the beginning of the opening take a look at.
“I’m assured that when the Australian staff returns house, they will depart with fond recollections, they usually all hopefully will turn out to be ambassadors of Pakistan.”
The significance of the collection was not misplaced on the International Cricket Council (ICC) with chief government Geoff Allardice attending the information convention.
“I’ve seen during the last 4 or 5 years the efforts the PCB and varied authorities in Pakistan have made to deliver elite cricket again to Pakistan and that is one other step in that journey,” Allardice mentioned.
“It’s a constructing block by way of constructing that confidence for teams to return again and tour Pakistan.”
Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA) chief government Todd Greenberg mentioned Australian cricketers had been “unbelievably excited”.
“Quite a lot of gamers had been very anxious about this tour some months in the past, however that anxiousness has turned to actual pleasure,” Greenberg mentioned.
“We perceive our contribution and our accountability to the worldwide recreation.”
Former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson performed a key function in convincing the gamers to tour Pakistan, whereas the ACA spoke to their households as properly sharing particulars of the safety preparations.
“The higher knowledgeable they’re the higher determination they’ll make which is why that anxiousness has was pleasure,” Greenberg added.
(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
