Faf du Plessis thanks Pakistan for the World XI tour

Pakistan pulled off a massive task as the country successfully hosted and completed the ICC World XI tour. The three-match T20 series passed with flying colors giving the hungry cricket crazy Pakistani fans exactly what they had asked for. 14 valiant warriors from all over the globe who dared to visit Pakistan as a part of the tour got the opportunity to be a part of history and were left immensely satisfied after the completion of the series.

South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis, who was handed over the responsibility to lead the World XI thanked Pakistan for their love, warmth and such a smooth running of the tour. Du Plessis had earlier stated that it was an absolute honor for him to be the skipper of the World XI side and he wanted to leave his footprints on cricket by touring Pakistan.

What Du Plessis had to say:

“I appreciate there was a lot of planning, a lot of time, a lot of money, a lot of energy spent in the planning of this week,” Du Plessis told reporters on Friday. “Everything was very smooth and very easy and we say thank you for that.” he added.

The security arrangements made by the PCB was rock solid as the spectators had to pass through four checkpoints before entering the stadium. The stadium and the team hotel was guarded by thousands of security officials and armed forces to ensure presidential level security for the cricketers.

“I just loved seeing the emotion on people’s faces, that’s something that stood out for me,” Du Plessis said. “I’ve never been part of a game where there’s been so much emotions and appreciativeness from the crowd, when they are cheering you as if you are playing at your own home crowd, so that’s very good to be part of.” said Du Plessis.

Felt safe in Lahore

However, Du Plessis was not sure whether this tour will prompt other countries to visit the country for bilateral competitions. “They will have to be a completely different set of things put in place for South Africa to come and tour here,” he said. “I’m sure if there was an opportunity … and they saw all the procedures that were put in place and the feedback we as a player, then that could be an option. “What I can say is the fact that we’ve been in Lahore here now and we did feel safe,” added Faf.

Du Plessis admitted to the fact that he was nervous before touring the country which vanished after landing in the city of Lahore. Plessis said “When I first thought of coming, obviously there was little bit of nervousness within myself,” he said. “Now going through this week … we’ve really enjoyed as a team, everything was very enjoyable for us.”

This tour is another reminder of the fact that cricket transcends boundaries,” he said. “They’ve (the youngsters) seen some of the best players across the world live in action and this might be the beginning of the cricketing journey of Hashim Amla or Faf du Plessis.” he concluded.