'Our grounds turned into...': Shahid Afridi on Pakistan cricket's difficult period after 2009 terror attacks
Shahid Afridi on Pakistan cricket's difficult period after 2009 terror attacks
Sri Lanka's 2009 tour of Pakistan turned Pakistan cricket upside down. During the tour, terrorist attack on SL cricket team's bus left the cricketing fraternity concerned. Post this incident, teams refused to travel to Pakistan and the national team had to play their home games in the UAE.
After the terror incident rocked Pakistan cricket, they had to deal with a lot. Former Pakistan all-rounder and captain Shahid Afridi recently recalled the struggles faced by Pakistan cricket. "Our grounds were turned into wedding halls. We wanted to play on our grounds. It was a difficult period for Pakistan cricket, we were missing our crowd. The people who have worked to make this happen, have put in a lot of effort. The board, the government. They played an important role," Afridi said on Pakistani news channel Samaa TV.
Afridi further revealed how he used to try to convince players from other countries to come and play in Pakistan while taking part in leagues or country cricket. "We used to convince cricketers outside when we used to go and play in other leagues, county cricket, that through their help we'll be able to bring cricket back in our country. When cricket returned, a good message was sent from Pakistan, that we are sports loving nation and that we want to watch and play cricket on our ground here," the veteranadded.
Also read:PCB chief sends legal notice to Kamran Akmal for ‘defamatory’ remarks on Pakistan following T20 WC
"That difficult period has passed. The teams started touring Pakistan. Some pulled out Australia came, England came. These were things our crowd was missing," Afridi added.
The situation has changed for the good for Pakistan cricket in recent times. In the last five years, several teams such as Australia, West Indies, Sri Lanka, South Africa and England have toured Pakistan. New Zealand, who had pulled out of their tour of Pakistan on the day of their tour opener in 2021 citing security concerns, are also scheduled to tour the Asian country later this year for two Tests and three ODIs.
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