— Former England captain says ‘Hugely-talented’ Pakistan deserves to play in front of home fans
Paul Collingwood, former England captain and a part of the World XI squad that is set to tour Pakistan next week, is hopeful that the series – named as the Independence Cup 2017 – ‘can be a significant step’ in bringing international cricket back to the country.
“One can only imagine how demoralising it must have been for the Pakistani players during the last few years when they could not play any international matches in their home grounds and this series is an opportunity to prove to the world that they can hold big fixtures in their own country once again,” he wrote in a column for the ICC website.
“Playing away from their home would have done nothing to help them improve their game in the long-term and it must have been so frustrating. Despite that, I have to say I’m not surprised that they still topped the ICC Test Team Rankings last year and won the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, because when it comes to cricket, they’re a hugely-talented nation.”
“Sometimes, you don’t know what you’re going to get in terms of performance and that’s why they can be such a dangerous opposition. Getting those home games again – although there is a little way to go – would be a big thing,” he wrote.
Reminiscing about his previous tour to Pakistan, Collingwood fondly recalled the passion of Pakistani fans. “I’ve had a taste of it myself because I toured there with England just after The Ashes in 2005. It’s a very passionate place and the atmosphere in the grounds can be deafening, particularly in Karachi.”
“I’m sure that once we get out there, the locals will want Pakistan to win, but they will see the bigger picture and they will be behind us too,” he said. The 2010 T20 World Cup-winning captain said that he cannot wait to play on Pakistan soil again, but regretted he would not be able to do much sightseeing because of the ‘head of state’ security which would accompany the team.
“I’m just looking forward to playing three really competitive games of cricket and for it to be as normal as possible,” he wrote, adding that he was really proud of getting selected in the World XI squad. “Trying to help Pakistan is important for cricket – and no-one can pretend the money isn’t great – but, added to that, playing them in their own back yard also really floated my boat.”
“I’ve not played international cricket since 2011, so to play in games with full international status against the full Pakistan side is very, very exciting and it’s great to be involved,” the 41-year-old cricketer remarked. “We’ll have three great matches and hopefully we will have helped in a small way,” he added.
The World XI will play Pakistan at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore on September 12, 13 and 15.
Pakistan squad: Sarfraz Ahmed (c) (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Ahmed Shehzad, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Umer Amin, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Hassan Ali, Amir Yamin, Mohammad Amir, Rumman Raees, Usman Shinwari, Sohail Khan.
World XI squad: Faf du Plessis (c), Hashim Amla, Samuel Badree, George Bailey, Paul Collingwood, Ben Cutting, Grant Elliott, Tamim Iqbal, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Tim Paine (wk), Thisara Perera, Imran Tahir, Darren Sammy.
