In a bid to get top-flight international cricket back to their home soil, Pakistan has extended an invitation to the England cricket team for a tour.
The step has been taken by the interior minister, Ahsan Iqbal who approached the UK High Commissioner Thomas Drew on Tuesday.
If everything falls in line, England will travel for the first time since 2005.
International cricket in Pakistan had suffered helplessly due to various terrorism-related events in the past decade.
However, in the recent few years, due to the wider security measures and the crackdown on extremist elements things have slowly improved. And, after successful visits by the Windies and Zimbabwe sides, the optimism of finally bringing top international teams back in their country for tours has grown significantly among the cricket crazy fans of Pakistan.
“The successful staging of international matches in Pakistan is a clear proof that we have defeated terrorism and extremism,” he said, according to an official statement.
Drew said he was already looking forward to,
“this summer’s big cricketing event”, Pakistan’s upcoming England tour.
“But I also hope that it will not be long before I can welcome an England team to Pakistan. That really is something to look forward to; he told AFP Wednesday.”
Pakistan was stripped of the rights to host international teams due to rising security concerns among visiting teams. The escalation of the security worries escalated to the peak after the 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore.
Forced by this uncontrollable situation, Pakistan has to play their home fixtures away in the United Arab Emirates.
However, the government has acted steadily against such elements and has ensured that the security was improved.
Owing to these positive steps, Pakistan has managed to bring the international teams to their land somewhat, hosting Zimbabwe, a World XI side and Sri Lanka apart from the finals of Pakistan Super League (PSL) for two consecutive years since 2015.
Pakistan had also just recently wrapped up a short T20 series against the Windies. Lahore and Karachi played host to most of the matches.
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