Cricket teams have feared to tour Pakistan after the terror attack on the Sri Lanka team in 2009. That incident had tarnished the image of them worldwide. But, last year, after more than 10 years, Pakistan hosted its first Test series against Sri Lanka to mark the comeback of cricket at their home.
Earlier this year, Bangladesh had also toured Pakistan to play the T20I series. Also, for the first time, they hosted their T20 Premier League, Pakistan Super League (PSL), at home. So, the country has been somewhere to successful to wash away it’s the danger-zone image.
Now, former England captain Atherton has also said that there is no reason why England should not tour Pakistan in the future. His remark came after PCB chief executive Wasim Khan expressed that he wishes that England would tour Pakistan ahead of their scheduled visit in 2022.
The perception of Pakistan is totally different: Mike Atherton
To this, England head coach Chris Silverwood had also agreed for touring there.
“Mike Atherton said as quoted by Saj Sadiq on Twitter: “The perception of Pakistan is totally different to what the reality actually is on the ground. And that’s why I hope England’s players tour there in 2022, because there’s no reason why they should not tour” #ENGvPAK #Cricket”
Mike Atherton "The perception of Pakistan is totally different to what the reality actually is on the ground. And that's why I hope England's players tour there in 2022, because there's no reason why they should not tour" #ENGvPAK #Cricket
— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) August 8, 2020
Meanwhile, the Green Army is playing the second Test against England in Southampton. In the rain-curtailed first day of the Test, England picked early prized wickets of the captain Azhar Ali, who had also struggled in first Test and the centurion in opening Test Shan Masood.
The top-order batsman Abid Ali was out after scoring 60 runs. Fawad Alam, who was included in the playing XI after so long, was out for a duck after playing four balls. Well, their star performer Babar Azam (25*) is still in the crease as they ended the day at 126 for five.
After playing the Test series, the two teams will also play the T20I series from 28th August.