Since the sad events of 2009 when the Sri Lanka cricketers were the last visitors to play in Pakistan, there has been no international cricket possible in Pakistan due to security reasons. Since that time, Pakistan have been forced to play their ‘home’ games at offshore venues such as England and more recently, the UAE. 

By Farid Khan (13th December, 2014)

Since the sad events of 2009 when the Sri Lanka cricketers were the last visitors to play in Pakistan, there has been no international cricket possible in Pakistan due to security reasons. Since that time, Pakistan have been forced to play their ‘home’ games at offshore venues such as England and more recently, the UAE. 

A proud nation with an even remarkable cricket history which has boasted the likes of Fazal Mahmood, AH Kardar, Hanif Mohammad, Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis to name a few, has been left to watch its national team on TV screens, going about their business in foreign lands; the very personal bond between home teams and their supporters broken due to events and situations beyond anyone’s control. 

Whilst many PCB administrations from 2009 onwards have made favourable noises to try and alleviate this crisis, the situation had largely remained the same and no tangible progress has been made other than playing to the galleries of public opinion in Pakistan. It appeared to many, that Pakistan’s ability to host international teams had been irreversibly damaged and no amount of public relation campaigns and governmental pressure could help in this cause. That perception of Pakistan as a pariah state in terms of cricket was changed on 10th December, 2014 with the arrival of the national squad from Kenya.

To the relief of many millions of cricket mad Pakistanis and due to the tireless efforts of the PCB Chairman Shahryar Khan and his equally dedicated team of professionals, Kenya Cricket agreed to send their team to Pakistan to play a series of 5 matches against a strong Pakistan ‘A’ team in Lahore. The Kenya squad to their credit wasted no time in recognizing the significance of this visit and their coach Steve Tikolo reiterated his side’s desire to make sure that the focus of the visit remained firmly on cricket, stating that “We are looking to get enough match practice before we head to Namibia for the World Qualifier League. This series is part of our preparation. When Pakistan offered to host us, we had no hesitation. We are honoured and privileged to be here. I have been to Lahore and Karachi before and as cricketers, we all want to play cricket, keeping politics aside,” he added. 

Whilst it is true that visits by other cricket playing nations to Pakistan may take a little more time to arrange, the visit of an international team from Kenya does carry significant weight and could go a long way to convince others as well. The PCB Chairman, for his part, had no reservations in recognizing the importance of this visit as a starting point of the journey which could lead to full restoration of Test cricket in Pakistan stating that “Since Kenya are here, the ICC should monitor this successful event. We feel the threat of terrorism in the country is coming down and hopefully bigger teams will start touring Pakistan in the near future. Out of the 10 big teams, 2 or 3 have agreed to visit us in the future. Other than that, Ireland, Scotland and Netherlands are also keen to play here. It will take another 2-3 years for Test cricket to be revived in Pakistan”. 

For Pakistan’s cricketers, the visit by the Kenya team represents a great opportunity to showcase their talent in front of local support – something that these cricketers have not been able to do for a long period of time. The Pakistan ‘A’ coach Mansoor Rana understands the significance of this, stating that “It will lay the foundation for the youngsters to progress into international cricket. We acknowledge the Kenyan team who have come here and opened the doors of international cricket for us again,” he added.

This series, may not be high-profile, yet holds lot of significance for Pakistan as well as for Kenyan cricket, who are facing a great decline since reaching the 2003 World Cup semis at their own backyard, which also remains their biggest milestone till date. On the other hand, the PCB is looking to make a strong case for the revival of international cricket in the country. There is a lot of buzz inside the city of Lahore, with spectators geared up to witness the glimpse of what is deemed to be the first step towards the continuation of international cricket in the country. The mood in the PCB circles is upbeat and is summed up succinctly in recent remarks by PCB’s COO Subhan Ahmad “Kenya's visit has its own importance because it is the first full non-Asian team to visit Pakistan after March 2009. This tour will help in changing the perception about security in Pakistan. We hope that tours by other full-member teams will follow after this."

The Kenyan team is staying at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore, and is being provided Presidential level security by the country’s elite security units. With this very important aspect of the tour being handled in a competent matter, the focus of this series is now completely on the quality of cricket and the talent on display from both side. The first clash of the 5-match series between Kenya and Pakistan ‘A’ on 13th of December will show to the world, one hopes that the visit by the Kenya team will change perceptions about international cricket in Pakistan for a long time to come.

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