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The iconic World XI tour of Pakistan is underway with the first T20I going in favor of the home side. It was a great spectacle for the game as players from around the world got together in an effort to revive cricket in Pakistan.
There was tremendous interest from the locales as the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore was packed to the rafters. Going by the success of the game, Najam Sethi, the Chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board, has announced 2 more World Series tours in the next couple of years.
“The World XI series is now planned for every year for the three years. This is first of the three series and there will be two more in the next years, Once this [World XI tour] is done the Sri Lankans have committed to play one or two matches in Lahore next month and then the West Indies have committed to me that they will come for three matches in November,” said the PCB chief as quoted by The Guardian.
“Now we can say with assurance that the war against terrorism has been taken to its logical conclusion and that 90-95% of terrorism has abated in this country. A sufficient condition was to convince the international community in general and the ICC in particular that the situation was safe to play cricket,” he added.
PSL final laid the foundation
Sethi credited the Pakistan Super League (PSL) final, that was hosted in Lahore earlier this year, for the existence of the current World XI tour in the country. The various security experts made their way to Lahore to witness the security during the final and gave their reports that made the return of international cricket possible in the country.
“First step in that direction was to at least try and play at least one match in Pakistan, which is why I fought tooth and nail to have the PSL final in Lahore. Security experts affiliated with various boards and also with the ICC came to the Lahore final and saw for themselves the excellent security arrangements that were in place, and then they went back and gave their reports. All this formed the basis for a World XI tour,” concluded Sethi.
