The only way that you could have expected an ICC World XI as high-profile as that which would be touring in 10 days’ time would be if you were unbelievably delusional or a die-hard Pakistan cricket fan. The two have often been synonymous to each other. And yet, we are not just imagining this.
The Pakistani cricket fan has waited and waited patiently, agonisingly, for the formal resumption of international cricket in Pakistan. And a star studded 14-member ICC squad will now be playing three T20s in Lahore on September 12, 13 and 15.
The Zimbabwe tour in 2015 was unbelievable, as anyone who spent a minute in or around Gaddafi Stadium during any of the matches would testify. But one knew it at heart that it wasn’t quite the end of the exile for the national side, just yet.
Grant Elliot's bat drop
This year’s PSL final was an equally momentous occasion. We had world champs like Darren Sammy and Marlon Samuels on board. But what with the foreign contingent of the Quetta Gladiators’ pulling out, the attacks leading up to the match and its unfortunate politicisation in the aftermath meant that while it was a step forward, we weren’t quite there yet.
Turns out it was a gigantic step. The announcement made then by the now PCB chairman Najam Sethi is resulting in a series that is the official curtain-raiser for international cricket’s return to Pakistan – for good.
Most of it is because of the profile of the athletes forming the ICC World XI. With players from seven Test-playing nations – five South Africans, three Australians, two West Indians, and one Bangladeshi, English, New Zealander and Sri Lankan each – it has some of the biggest names in world cricket.
Fans at Lahore's Gadaffi stadium
Five South Africans include the national Test side’s skipper Faf du Plessis, veteran batsman Hashim Amla, star fast bowler Morne Morkel, leading spinner Imran Tahir and T20 specialist David Miller. There are three other international skippers in the shape of Sammy, Paul Collingwood and George Bailey.
The complete squad: Faf du Plessis (c), Hashim Amla, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Imran Tahir (South Africa), Darren Sammy, Samuel Badree (West Indies), George Bailey, Ben Cutting, Tim Paine (wk) (Australia), Paul Collingwood (England), Grant Elliott (New Zealand), Tamim Iqbal (Bangladesh), Thisara Perera (Sri Lanka).
From Asian big names like Tamim Iqbal and Thisara Perera to PSL stars Samuel Badree and Grant Elliott – whose bat drop in PSL 2 resonated around the world – there is no shortage of eminence in the squad. And we all know that the ICC World XI’s purpose, i.e. encouraging other international sides to follow suit, was always going to rest on the profile of the athletes.
Amla and Du Plessis
That purpose has been served. There are multiple World Cup winners, many who have topped ICC bowling and batting charts, and barring India and Zimbabwe each of the heretofore Test-playing nations is represented – even though the latter has Andy Flower, the World XI coach, as its representative.
It is no coincidence that the squad announcement has overlapped with tour confirmations from Sri Lanka and West Indies. The Sri Lankans would play “at least one T20” in Lahore as part of the tour, most of which would be played out in the UAE. The Windies are scheduled to tour Pakistan in November.
Darren Sammy during the PSL final in Lahore
The ICC World XI series would open the doors for two international sides in little over two months
So if all goes according to plan, the ICC World XI series would open the doors for two international sides in little over two months. Then there is the PSL 3, with contracts being offered to foreign players underscoring that apart from Lahore, matches would be played in Karachi as well.
The ICC World XI is opening a whole new world to Pakistan – and yet a world that we were for so long familiar with.
