Top officials of the Pakistan Cricket Board, including its chairman Najam Sethi, welcomed the players at the airport.
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The PCB will be hoping that a successful organisation of the Independence Cup could open the floodgates for other worldwide sides to visit the country in the future.
“I am not anxious about these security checkpoints, I am more excited that on Tuesday doors of worldwide cricket will be opened in Pakistan”, said Mohammad Abdullah, a college student.
Faf du Plessis will be following in Graeme Smith and Shaun Pollock’s footsteps in terms of South Africans captaining the World XI.
The ICC has sent security experts to monitor the three Twenty20s between Pakistan and the World XI at Gaddafi Stadium on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. “We are just happy that after a long time Pakistani cricket fans can watch worldwide action at home”, Du Plessis said at a press conference.
The matches will be held at Gadhafi Stadium, Lahore, on the 12, 13, and 15 of this month.
It will be the first high-level cricket played in the country since terrorists struck the Sri Lankan team bus March 2009, killing eight people – six police officers and two civilians – and injuring seven players and staff.
“I told (teammates) very positive things because I have been coming here to meet my family every year”, he said on Monday.
Most of the cricket world has shunned visiting Pakistan since 2009 when gunmen attacked the Sri Lanka team convoy. “I tried to convince all my team fellows and many agreed and some agreed to visit the country next time”. The Pakistan crowds will want a competitive series between their heroes and their distinguished opposition, but the fact that they are seeing global cricket in their own country will be a huge boost. Our ranking is quite high (No. 3) and we want to maintain it so the series is equally important. Though he has been among the first names in the Test and ODI XI since his return to worldwide cricket in January 2016, he did not play in any of Pakistan’s last T20 commitments – a four-match series in the West Indies.
Now with World XI travelling to Pakistan, PCB has received a boost as they aim to host major Test playing nations in future.
South African cricket star, Faf du Plessis is leading the World-XI team.
Since then, Pakistan has been forced to play most of its “home” matches in the United Arab Emirates. It will be good for world cricket.
“This courageous nation had to suffer absence of worldwide cricket for a very long time”.
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Although Pakistan are likely to be without their ICC Champions Trophy final hero Mohammed Amir due to his wife set to give birth to their first child, the hosts are still set to field a formidable XI.
