World XI squad arrive in Lahore amidst tight security for the series opener

Pakistan is set to host World XI for a series of 3 T20 Internationals in Lahore with a hope to end years of international isolation. The World XI squad led by Faf du Plessis arrived in Lahore on Monday under tight security for the opening game on Tuesday. Prior to this friendly series, the squad trained in Dubai in the presence of their coach Andy Flower.

Pakistan has not hosted any major international series since 2009 apart from Zimbabwe after the militant attack on Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore during a Test match. The security in the country has been vastly improved since then. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) also successfully hosted the final of PSL in Lahore earlier this year with a few of the international players arriving in the country.

Tremendous security around the ground for a week

The World XI squad arrived in Pakistan at around 2 am on Monday with air surveillance and dozens of police vans in attendance as the players rushed to their hotels. Both the team and the hotel will be surrounded by 9000 police and paramilitary staff deployed over the next five days. Only Samuel Badree hasn’t arrived yet and is expected to join the squad later on the day.

On Sunday, a spokesperson for the government of Punjab province, Malik Mohammad Khan, said, “Authorities were providing “foolproof security for the World XI with a big contingent of security officials deployed”. He also informed that the shops and restaurants around the venue to be shut for the duration of the series while spectators will have to pass through multiple security checkpoints.

Pakistan has been playing their ‘home’ games in the United Arab Emirates since 2009 and has incurred a huge loss of around $120 million according to PCB. The three T20 Internationals are scheduled to be played on September 12, 13 and 15 post which Sri Lanka will also visit the country for a T20I in Lahore in next month.