Trying to help Pakistan is important for cricket: Paul Collingwood

Former England all-rounder Paul Collingwood will feature in the World XI line up, as they will take on Pakistan in the three match T20 series in Lahore. The first two T20Is will be played on September 12 and 13, and the final game will be played on September 15 at the Gaddafi Stadium. Faf du Plessis will captain the World XI side while Sarfaraz Ahmed will lead Pakistan.

Big names such as Hashim Amla, Imran Tahir and Morne Morkel will play in the series. Bangladesh’s opener Tamim Iqbal, West Indies world cup winning skipper Darren Sammy and Australia’s George Bailey will also be seen in action. Collingwood feels that this particular series will help Pakistan cricket in the longer run. It will act as a stepping stone in hosting international matches in the future.

Significant step for Pakistan

In a column for the International Cricket Council ( ICC), Collingwood wrote, “There are lots of reasons why I’m looking forward to playing in the World XI T20 tour of Lahore.” “Hopefully this can be a significant step in helping Pakistan host international fixtures again after eight years of playing in other countries, including their home series in the United Arab Emirates and England,” he adds.

“Playing away from their home would have done nothing to help them improve their game in the long-term and it must have been so frustrating,” writes Collingwood. “If teams are going to tour there again, it’s important that their supporters are also going to be safe to travel there.” Trying to help Pakistan is important for cricket – and no-one can pretend the money isn’t great – but, added to that, playing them in their own back yard also really floated my boat,” he adds.

Pakistan Squad: Sarfraz Ahmed(c), Fakhar Zaman, Ahmed Shehzad, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Umar Amin, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Fahim Ashraf , Hasan Ali, Aamer Yamin, Mohammad Amir, Rumman Raees, Usman Khan, Sohail Khan

World XI Squad: David Miller, Morne Morkel, Tim Paine, Thisara Perera, Imran Tahir, Darren Sammy, Hashim Amla, Grant Elliott, Samuel Badree, George Bailey, Tamim Iqbal, Paul Collingwood, Ben Cutting, Faf du Plessis(c)