minhasuz
19th January 2009, 01:52
KARACHI: Pakistan’s cricket chief Ijaz Butt personally turned up at the airport to receive Sri Lanka cricketers, who arrived here on Sunday to play three One-day Internationals.
It’s unusual for a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman to personally receive visiting teams. A PCB official said that Butt decided to greet the Sri Lankan team at the airport to acknowledge their decision to visit Pakistan at a time when most leading cricket teams are avoiding the country because of security apprehensions.
The series against Sri Lanka is expected to serve as a launch pad for the return of international cricket to Pakistan, which suffered major losses because of the cancellation of important events at home last year.
Australia refused to tour Pakistan last spring for a full series, citing safety fears and later ICC was forced to postpone the Champions Trophy when five of the eight competing teams expressed concerns about visiting Pakistan.
Another major blow came when India blocked its cricket team’s tour of Pakistan because of strained relations between the two countries over last November’s terror attacks in Mumbai.
Pakistani cricket officials are now hoping for things to get better this year. “We are delighted that a foreign team is in Pakistan to play a series. Hopefully this will clear the way for other teams to visit Pakistan in the future,” said Javed Miandad, the PCB Director General.
Pakistan had invited Sri Lanka after the cancellation of the home series against India. Sri Lanka will play three ODI on January 20, 21 and 24 before returning home to play a one-day series against India. They will return to Pakistan next month to play two Tests.
Also present among the reception committee was Dr Mohammad Ali Shah, the Sindh Sports Minister.
Source: http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=157854
It’s unusual for a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman to personally receive visiting teams. A PCB official said that Butt decided to greet the Sri Lankan team at the airport to acknowledge their decision to visit Pakistan at a time when most leading cricket teams are avoiding the country because of security apprehensions.
The series against Sri Lanka is expected to serve as a launch pad for the return of international cricket to Pakistan, which suffered major losses because of the cancellation of important events at home last year.
Australia refused to tour Pakistan last spring for a full series, citing safety fears and later ICC was forced to postpone the Champions Trophy when five of the eight competing teams expressed concerns about visiting Pakistan.
Another major blow came when India blocked its cricket team’s tour of Pakistan because of strained relations between the two countries over last November’s terror attacks in Mumbai.
Pakistani cricket officials are now hoping for things to get better this year. “We are delighted that a foreign team is in Pakistan to play a series. Hopefully this will clear the way for other teams to visit Pakistan in the future,” said Javed Miandad, the PCB Director General.
Pakistan had invited Sri Lanka after the cancellation of the home series against India. Sri Lanka will play three ODI on January 20, 21 and 24 before returning home to play a one-day series against India. They will return to Pakistan next month to play two Tests.
Also present among the reception committee was Dr Mohammad Ali Shah, the Sindh Sports Minister.
Source: http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=157854