Pakistan as safe a country as there is in the world, attests Wasim Khan
PCB Chief Wasim Khan hailed Pakistan as an extremely safe country and urged people to visit the country so as to asses the development the nation has made. PCB hosted CA and ECB chiefs for talks upon a future tour to the subcontinent nation, which is vying to bring international cricket back.
Ever since Sri Lanka toured Pakistan for a couple of limited over series earlier this year, it has seemed like it's only a matter of time before international cricket returns to the lands of Pakistan. In the aftermath of the Sri Lanka tour, Bangladesh A side and their women’s team have also toured Pakistan as Sri Lanka gear up to play the first Test match in the country in more than a decade.
Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) chief executive Wasim Khan is very optimistic about the future of international cricket in the country given the above mentioned developments as PCB hosted Cricket Australia CEO Kevin Roberts and his counterpart from the England Cricket Board, Tom Harrison, and Cricket Ireland, Warren Deutromo, to discuss on the perspectives of a tour to the subcontinent nation.
Khan believes that hosting the Sri Lanka team for the two-Test match series and organizing the whole of the Pakistan Super League season in the country will be key to bring international cricket back to their lands.
"Do I think that's realistic? Absolutely. Can it happen? I think it's a case of ongoing dialogue working closely with players' associations," Khan told ESPNcricinfo.
"The first big step was to get Kevin and Tom to come over, which they committed to and really threw themselves into, which is superb. The FTP, the next two or three years, it gives us the opportunity to take small steps. It's not going to happen overnight, we need to continue to build confidence on what we do.
"Our greatest selling point is word of mouth from players - 260 foreign players from across 15 countries registered for the draft, which shows how far we've come. I'm hoping that will accelerate people's thinking in wanting to come and visit. We just have to be consistent in our approach with every country."
Khan emphasized on the importance of visiting the country to assess the progress that has been made, labelling Pakistan as safe a country as there is in the world. Pakistan have invited South Africa, Afghanistan and Ireland for a Test series in their backyard in addition to the Bangladesh side that will be visiting them early next year for a Test series.
"The one big thing is that I think there's a perception about Pakistan and what exists there, it's not until you get there that you realise the reality is very different. I think everyone who came over had a really good experience, saw that it's a normal country and people live a normal way. Wherever you look in the world, Pakistan is as safe as anywhere. The world's not a great place at the moment, but we've done everything we can to get the security measures in place
"We are pretty experienced at it now, because we've had to be. What people say when they leave is that it's not what I imagined it would be. It's frustrating at times because people have this perception because that's what the media paints. It's had its fair share of issues in the past, we remain vigilant, there's no complacency, but we are good at what we do and I encourage people to come have that experience."
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