By Shahid Hashmi
The misconceptions are now removed. With the arrival of a high-profile England team, just eight months after Australia had a safe month-long tour, proves Pakistan is healthy, hearty and hospitable.
Pakistan had always been hospitable. That is the country’s tradition. Pakistanis welcome the world with open arms, a pleasing smile, unparalleled hospitality and utmost regard. International teams not coming to Pakistan in the wake of attacks on the Sri Lankan team was not only a loss for millions of home fans, but it was also a huge miss for teams and players as they now know what they were missing.
It also deprived fans of connectivity with zealous and loving Pakistani fans. That is evident from the experience of Australian fans who had a whale of a time in February-March. “I had wrong perceptions about Pakistan. I was dissuaded from going to this lovely country but when I came, I saw an altogether different picture,” said Phil Martin, who came from Perth and visited Rawalpindi and Karachi.
The famous ‘Barmy Army’ — name given to globe-trotting England fans — are echoing the same sentiments. Some 200 of them are in Pakistan. They had a tour to Hunza before the first Test and are now enjoying Pakistani foods despite them being hard on their bellies.
But who cares?
“We are part of a group called NOT OUT and we are from Leeds, UK,” said Alison Midgley. “We went up to Hunza and had a delightful time there and faced no problems and no fears.”
Pakistan invites World as security fears are hit for a six
Pakistan have now hosted Zimbabwe (twice), Sri Lanka (twice), South Africa, Australia and England (twice) and this is proof enough that it’s a safe country. Pakistan’s army and other security agencies in tandem with the government have taken all the measures to ensure that all the teams and fans remain safe and happy.
Australia had not come to Pakistan for 24 years. Every time they had a cricket tour lined up they forced Pakistan to play at a neutral venue. In 2002, Pakistan played its home matches at Sri Lanka and Sharjah. Then in 2010, Pakistan hosted Australia in England and then in 2014 and 2018 the series were held in the United Arab Emirates.
Finally, Australia came and realised what they had missed. Although Australian players did not get a chance to move freely because of security and Covid-19 but they would surely want to return to Pakistan in the near future to explore the beauty of the country.
England had also been reluctant. They had not toured Pakistan since 2005. They withdrew their men’s and women’s teams’ tours to Pakistan last year and that was unreasonable after Australia’s visit. They realised and first sent a Twenty20 team and now the Test team. Once the team arrived it proved that Pakistan was flourishing.
On arrival England skipper Ben Stokes realised that he needed to send some good vibes. He did that by donating his match fee of the whole tour (close to 45,000 pounds) for flood relief work in Pakistan. Head coach Brendon McCullum had good old memories of Pakistan when he toured with the New Zealand ODI squad way back in 2003.
Pakistan open for the World
Now, what else does the world want? What else does India want? By not sending their team to Pakistan, the Modi government has closed people-to-people contact which had been the best way to improve relations between the neighbours. It was proved when the Indian team toured Pakistan in 2004 and Pakistan had a return tour a year later. Indians had an unforgettable time in Pakistan, so had Pakistanis in India.
The spring of cricket, return of it has proved that Pakistan is a safe country. It welcomes the world. With the success of cricket, tourism will also increase manifold. But for now, savour the cricket. Cricket is flourishing and so is Pakistan.
– The writer is a known sports journalist.
