Lahore readies for the return of international cricket

Crickters from seven nation will come together to play a one-off T-20 series against Pakistan in Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium, starting Tuesday.

Crickters from seven nation will come together to play a one-off T-20 series against Pakistan in Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium, starting Tuesday.

Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmad (R) and International World XI skipper Faf du Plessis hold the Independence Cup trophy during a press conference at the Gaddafi Cricket Stadium in Lahore on September 11, 2017. (AFP)

The World XI team, led by South Africa’s Faf du Plessis, will play three T-20s in a tournament dubbed the “Independence Cup”, with hundreds of security personnel deployed to prevent any untoward incident. The visitors reached Lahore on Monday morning.

The series is being seen as a step to pull Pakistan out of international isolation — after militants attacked the Sri Lankan team bus way back in 2009, Pakistan has hosted only one international cricket series. Every subsequent “home game” for Pakistan has been in Dubai, which meant the cricket board missed out on considerable revenue in fees and other expenses.

Board chairman Najam Sethi said that if all goes well, the country could host Sri Lanka and West Indies later this year.

Other notable players of the team are Hashim Amla, Morne Morkel and Imran Tahir (South Africa), Tamim Iqbal (Bangladesh), George Bailey (Australia), Paul Collingwood (England), Darren Sammy (West Indies), Thisara Perera (Sri Lanka) and Grant Elliot (New Zealand).