KARACHI: Former chief selector Salahuddin Sallu on Tuesday hailed the announcement made by Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Najam Sethi regarding the tours of the World XI, Sri Lanka and the West Indies in the coming months as the beginning of a new era in Pakistan cricket history and hoped that the long wait of millions of home fans for the revival of international cricket seems to be over with these fine developments.

“Sethi Sahab’s presser on Monday was like a power-play mode during which he constantly played on the front foot, unleashing superb square cuts and on-drives,” said Sallu, deftly using the cricketing parlance in his statement.

“This news of back to back tours by a star-studded World XI followed by Sri Lanka and the West Indies to play T20s has brought sheer joy and a definite ray of hope for the millions of fans and each one of us about the revival of international cricket here after 2009,” he said.

“This is a huge breakthrough for which we must credit PCB’s relentless efforts that have managed to convince the foreign teams of improved playing and security conditions in Pakistan.”

However, Sallu added that hosting these teams will be a big challenge for Pakistan and the PCB. “We will have to use all our resources big time to ensure that all the matches remain incident free and the players return a satisfied bunch from here to convey to the rest of the world that Pakistan is a safe and enjoyable place for the international teams to tour here.

“Sethi Sahab is a man fully capable of facing tough challenges, like he did in putting together the highly successful Pakistan Super League (PSL),” said the former Test player.

“I firmly believe that not just our players but the entire nation can rise and find their feet if international cricket resumes in full flow here,” he observed. “Cricket is such a fantastic game, it can really lift the spirits of this nation. And for our players to play in front of their crowds will transform them into true warriors and a battle-hardened unit.”

Sallu further said that though the names of the World XI players have not yet been revealed but it is likely to comprise leading players of the world since it is backed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) which has obviously convinced the top teams to send their players to Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, August 23rd, 2017