Foreign players hail Pakistan security
hong kong — Foreign players have tentatively endorsed the return of international cricket to Pakistan after their whirlwind trip to Lahore for Sunday’s heavily guarded Pakistan Super League final.
Players including winning captain Darren Sammy detailed a journey involving bullet-proof buses and closed roads, before they were rushed straight back to the airport with no time for celebrations.
The blanket security, deploying thousands of troops, military helicopters and armed guards on horseback, came after a deadly militant attack in 2009 on Sri Lanka’s team halted visits by top-level cricket teams. The rest of the Pakistan Super League was played in the UAE, but Sunday’s incident-free final has opened the door to more international cricket with a World XI now scheduled to visit in September. Several foreign players, including England’s Kevin Pietersen and Luke Wright, skipped the final over safety fears, but Sammy praised the arrangements in Pakistan. “Security was really tight,” the West Indian said in Hong Kong. “I only thought about security when I was on the bus,” added the two-time World Twenty20-winning captain, who led Peshawar Zalmi to a lopsided victory over Quetta Gladiators.
“Peshawar is like a family — once one foreign player was going there we were all going. It’s like a brotherhood.”Asked whether international cricket should now return, Sammy replied: “It’s not in my jurisdiction. It’s a small step in the right direction — time will tell.” Sammy said the journey was “Airport, hotel, stadium, airport. 3am to 3am. It was more or less in and out”. —