Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium opened its gates to a foreign team on Wednesday for the first time since a terror attack on the Sri Lankan team bus forced a halt to international cricket in Pakistan.
It was near the Gaddafi Stadium — Pakistan’s cricket headquarters — that militants opened fire on the visiting Sri Lankans as they made their way to the ground for the third day of the second Test in March 2009.
Eight people were killed and seven touring players and their assistant coach were wounded. No internationals have been played in Pakistan since.
A British Universities side took on a Pakistan Cricket Board Under-19 XI at the Gaddafi on Wednesday, losing the 50-over match by a huge 302-run margin.
While the contest may have been one-sided, Pakistani officials hope the presence of an overseas side will encourage others to follow — and ultimately lead to a return of international fixtures to the cricket-mad country. “It’s a great development that some foreign players, no matter University players, have played a cricket match at Gaddafi Stadium and it will give them a positive picture about Pakistan,” Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) director Intikhab Alam told AFP.
The attacks meant Pakistan also lost hosting rights for their World Cup matches last year, and the team have been forced to play their “home” matches at neutral venues, mostly in the United Arab Emirates. The PCB is trying to convince international teams to return and has invited Bangladesh to play a limited-overs series later this month. Earlier this month the Bangladesh Cricket Board sent a delegation to assess security for their team and said they were awaiting government clearance on the tour.
