Written by Hassan Salman
LAHORE: Over the past couple of years, International Cricket has started to pave its ways back to the stadiums of Pakistan. Teams from other countries that would previously be hesitant have now started to feel safer while participating in these friendly competitions. These recent developments act as proof of how Pakistan is starting to recover from false labels such as “a country of terrorists”. Owing to the unforgettable incident which occurred in 2009. On the 3rd of March, an attack occurred on a bus comprising of members from the Sri Lankan cricket team. In this unfortunate incident, six Sri Lankan cricketers were wounded, and eight Pakistani’s lost their lives.
Now, after many years of this unfortunate event, Pakistan is back on track, hosting numerous fixtures with teams from other nations such as Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. One of the major turn arounds for this was the Pakistan Super League which hosted countless extremely well renowned cricketers and steadily gave people the realization that Pakistan isn’t what it has been rumoured to be. Now, what can we do to ensure that Pakistan continues to prosper in this field? More recently, the Marylebone Cricket Club came to Pakistan for the first time in 48 years from the 13th to the 19th of February playing fixtures at the Gaddafi Stadium as well at Aitchison College. These series of events have started to revive the hopes of Pakistan being home for cricket once again.
The question that arises is: how will Pakistan continue this growing trend of International cricket on its turf? Nothing can guarantee this, however, a few actions, if taken, can greatly increase its chances.
Some technologies should be introduced in stadiums that will aid in making the sport easily understandable and less time-consuming. Sensors should be installed in the boundaries and bails in order to make it clear when a batsman has gotten out or has hit a boundary. An official cricket shopping store should be opened outside the stadium containing memorable moments of Pakistani cricketers as well as Pakistani Team kits and cricket equipment. This will not only allow foreign visitors to experience the sporting success of Pakistan in the past but also be a source of revenue generation that can enable PCB to invest in new technologies to improve the standards of their stadiums.
One of the major factors is the stadiums. If compared to other renowned stadiums around the world such as that at Lord’s in England; Stadiums such as the Qaddafi Stadium fall way short of that standard. First preference would obviously be new, well-built and well-equipped stadiums. Since that can prove to be costly and time consuming however, alterations and additions can be made to our existing stadiums such as new seats, easy and accessible entry and exit points.
One of the major problems for spectators is traffic congestion. Since most of our stadiums are in city centres, an ongoing match results in roads being blocked. Due to this blockage, countless individuals are affected.
Another action which could be implemented is to hire a team of people that specifically perform the job of arranging tours and cricket fixtures between teams. Interviews should be taken, and people should be selected from all over Pakistan and even from other countries. To encourage not only foreign teams but foreign spectators as well, hotels should be made near such stadiums since an average series can last anywhere between a weak and a month, more people will be inclined towards being a part of it if they can be guaranteed safe and comfortable living during their stay.
One final thing that the PCB can do as an organisation is to visit other countries on cricketing tours more frequently. It is quite promising to see how the Pakistani team may be paying a visit to both Ireland and Netherlands and even more countries over the course of 2020. This practice should be carried on so that friendly relations can be maintained, and teams are more comfortable visiting Pakistan if the teams and cricket boards have cordial relations between each other.
The author is a student of Aitchison College
