ICC issues an apology to Pakistan for 2011

The general category tickets for the 3 T20s in Lahore this week were sold out the very first day which tells you about the keenness of the people of Pakistan to witness history. They have waited for 8 long years to watch top flight cricket being played at home and their prayers were finally answered when an ICC World XI agreed to play a short series in Pakistan.

After the cowardly attack on the Sri Lanka team bus by a group in March 2009, international cricket was stalled in the country. Despite various attempts, PCB failed to get a team to play in Pakistan for all these years. They got support from Zimbabwe when they willingly toured Pakistan in 2015 but a bomb scare barely meters away from the stadium reinstalled fear amongst international teams about playing cricket in Pakistan.

PCB’s master move of hosting the finals of the PSL in Lahore has eventually paid off. They got top players like Darren Sammy, Dawid Malan, and Marlon Samuels to play in the final held at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. All players were offered tight security and the smooth operation of the finals led to instill some belief in international players.

Giles apologizes to Pakistan

ICC director Giles Clarke was in Lahore ahead of the first T20 which will be held in the city on Tuesday. He rendered an apology for not getting back to Pakistan in 2011 when the cricket frenzy nation needed them the most. He mentioned that the security standards were not great but ICC must have taken care of the nation.

“We should have done, was to come here in 2011, but security advise was against,” Clarke said, adding that “but that’s was not the point. We should have come and I’m sorry about that.”

“Security teams from different countries were present here to review security arrangements for the PSL final, and it was [on that basis that] this World XI tour became possible,” said Clarke.

Giles also congratulated Pakistan for their No. 1 ranking in Test cricket, a feat they achieved last year for a brief period. He also expressed delight at their win at the ICC Champions Trophy in June where they beat arch-rivals India in a lopsided game.