Cricket in Pakistan after 2009

Pakistan, a cricket loving nation, was pushed into complete isolation from any cricketing activity after the unfortunate terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan Cricket Team in Lahore. Furthermore, Pakistan was stripped off from co-hosting the 2011 World Cup because of the uncertainty that occurred after the 2009 attack. It was a huge setback for Pakistan. Post 2009 attacks, the cricket grounds in Pakistan became barren and Pakistan was forced to play their home matches in a deserted country of UAE.

Pakistan was in a helpless position and no country was ready to tour Pakistan for safety reasons. Though, six years later, came a ray of hope in the form of Zimbabwe Cricket Team. This was the first official international tour in Pakistan after the unfortunate incident of 2009. Zimbabwe agreed to play limited over matches hence becoming the first full member team to play cricket in Pakistan. After six long years, Qaddafi Stadium Lahore came back to live. This tour paved way for more international tours in Pakistan. In the same year, 2015, Bangladesh Women Team toured Pakistan too where they played matched in the historic National stadium of Karachi. 2015 marked the return of International Cricket in Pakistan. Well, these two tours were not enough to cultivate a barren land.

Moving on, after 2015, Cricket returned back to Pakistan in 2017. The final of Pakistan Super League was played in the Gaddafi Stadium Lahore. This was a major in gamble. The PSL Final was a success and Peshawar Zalmi won the final. Darren Sammy (Captain Peshawar Zalmi) said, “I am glad to experience the atmosphere here.”

What followed the 2017 PSL final was a tour of World XI in May 2017. The World XI team was captained by Faf Du Plessis and constituted of well known international cricketers, notably Imran Tahir, Hashim Amla and Thisara Perera. This tour was given an international status by the ICC.

Later in 2017, Sri Lanka Cricket team returned to Pakistan. Sri Lanka only played the last match of the series in Pakistan (rest were played in UAE), but it sure did make a statement.

Again in 2018, PCB decided to conduct the final of PSL in Pakistan. Surprisingly, the tickets for the final match, that was to be played in Karachi, were sold out in less than 3 hours. This showed the love that Pakistanis have for this beautiful game. One month after the PSL final, West Indies toured Pakistan for a short T20 series which they lost. West Indies became the third test playing country to visit the country. The women team of West Indies also toured Pakistan in February 2019. The three match T20 series tied and the trophy was shared between Pakistan Women and West Indies Women.

Moreover, the final stages of the PSL were played in Pakistan. This was a huge achievement considering that in the previous two years only the final games were played in Pakistan. The matches were supposed to be played in Karachi and Lahore, but due to some unforeseen circumstances Lahore was not able to conduct the matches. Later in 2019, Sri Lanka returned to light up Pakistani grounds again. Sri Lanka played 3 ODI and 3 T20 matches. The Sri Lankan team arrived Pakistan again in December 2019 to play 2 test matches. After 10 long years, test cricket marked its return to Pakistan.

In January 2020, the Bangladesh Cricket Team toured Pakistan. The series was divided in two parts as PSL was scheduled to be played in between. In the first half, the two teams played 3 T20 and 1 test match. Pakistan stood victorious in all the matches with the 3rd T20 being abandoned. What followed these matches was the Pakistan Super League. The whole tournament was scheduled to be played in Pakistan but the knockout stages of the tournament got postponed because of a global pandemic, Corona Virus. One off ODI and the second test match which was to be played between Pakistan and Bangladesh in Karachi also got postponed for the same reason. However, the knockout stages of PSL were played in Pakistan in November 2020.

Moving onto 2021, South Africa Cricket Team toured Pakistan in Jan-Feb for 2 tests and 3 T20I’s. South Africa managed to win only the second T20 match in this series. Later in February, Pakistan hosted first half of PSL which unfortunately got postponed because of the ongoing ‘Corona crisis’ and the other half of the tournament was later held in Abu Dhabi. However, second half of 2021 proved to be tough for Pakistan as on the day of match in Rawal Pindi, New Zealand Cricket Team abandoned the match and called off the series. Additionally, the tour of England men and women team to Pakistan also got cancelled. It was a huge blow for Pakistan Cricket.

Well, New Zealand and England faced a lot of backlash and England is hopeful for returning to Pakistan in 2022.

With a lot of ups and downs, it can be said that international cricket has officially returned to Pakistan.