The first Test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi may well have ended in a draw but the significance of the first Test on home soil in a decade cannot be overemphasized.

By Amir Husain (16th December, 2019)

For many years, television audiences around the world had become accustomed to watching Pakistan players reaching milestones in all formats of the game during ‘home’ series, in front of what could best be described as a handful of spectators in the UAE. In fact, the running joke used to be that there were more security personnel in the stadium then spectators in any given match. But thankfully, all that has changed in December of 2019.

The Sri Lankan Test side to their immense credit, decided to become the first international side to play a Test match in Pakistan, ten years after another team from their country had to abandon a tour in its midst in 2009. The mini miracle which was a combination of hard work by the PCB and some very brave and thoughtful decisions by Sri Lanka Cricket have given rise to hope that more teams will soon visit Pakistan to play full series in the not so distant future.

Whilst Pakistan fans and the cricket administration can rightly pat themselves on the back to celebrate this achievement, there are definite rooms for improvement if the country is to once again take its rightful place as a favoured destination for cricket playing nations.

The choice of Rawalpindi as a venue for the first Test in December was an interesting one given the cold temperatures and chances of bad weather in the region. One could argue that battling the vagaries of nature is part and parcel of the game itself but maybe some care could have been given to this aspect when planning. The problem, in PCB’s defence, would have been trying to find other stadia in the country which fit the bill for international venues but could a glance at the probable weather forecast allowed for a change given the importance of the series?

But then we must not be too harsh on the PCB. The fact is that the absence of international cricket not only robbed the fans from watching their stars in person, it also stunted the growth of facilities and marketing processes in the country which are common in other Test playing nations.

Thus, we saw very minimal hype being generated ahead of the series in the press and media to the extent that not many people even knew about the dates of the series and the announcements of ticket availability were done in a rather last-minute and haphazard manner. The PSL drafts may well have drowned out the hype about the return of top-class international cricket but PCB need to be better organized if they wish for Test cricket to be enjoyed by all.

It was good to see some pictures of the fancy media facilities at the Rawalpindi stadium. Facilitating the media at such events in this manner is crucial to project a good image of the country but then scenes of supporters sitting on cement floors as if we were still in the 60s is somewhat disconcerting as well. The spectators, we were told, were the lifeblood of this sport so why not give them more importance and provide them comfortable surroundings to enjoy a day out, and also support their heroes? Lack of comfortable seats, good eateries and bathrooms are some of the basics in stadiums around the world where international sport is hosted. International cricket may have stopped in Pakistan for the past 10 years or so, but how and why did it stop development and modernization of stadiums in Pakistan is the question many in the PCB administration will need to answer.

It is obvious that to have such developments, there needs to be money spent on our facilities which is a sort of Catch-22 situation. To spend money on stadiums, there needs to be interest in cricket to attract sponsors and gate receipts but if the stadiums are sub-standard and the cricket product unattractive, investors will be hesitant to put in their cash.

But amongst such criticism, we must not lose sight of the magnitude of what has actually transpired in Pakistan in the past few days in Rawalpindi. An international side has played a full Test match on Pakistani soil after a decade. A decade where youngsters could only watch and admire their stars supposedly playing at home in the UAE, where a 5fer or a century by one of their own was greeted with shouts of joy in their living rooms instead of stadiums in Rawalpindi or Karachi.

This is why, despite days lost to inclement weather, throngs of people showed up to watch their stars in action and the Pakistani heroes did not disappoint.

From the promising talent of Naseem Shah to the fast-maturing Shaheen Shah Afridi in the first 2 days, to the batting excellence on display on Day 5 by the likes of Test centurion Babar Azam and the record breaking Abid Ali, Pakistan fans got a glimpse of what they had been missing for years and what, Insh ALLAH, they will get to see for many years to come.

And whilst we are praising cricketers, no words of gratitude can be enough to say a special vote of thanks to the Sri Lanka Test squad who have arrived in Pakistan and are going about their work without any fuss with only words of kindness for their hosts. Make no mistake, as we saw in the T20I series a few months back, they are not here for a PR exercise. Helped by local knowledge thanks to their Head Coach Mickey Arthur, they have come well-prepared to take the fight to the hosts and the Karachi Test will be an excellent test of wits for the hosts.

So on to Karachi where the final Test of the series will be played and given the shortened nature of the first Test, the Chief Selector and Head Coach Misbah-ul-Haq will have a hard time trying to justify changes to the side. The absence of Yasir Shah on a Pakistan pitch did raise a few eyebrows and his mentoring at the hands of the newly appointed Pakistan Spin Consultant, Mushtaq Ahmed, could well have given him the missing energy which could return him back to his match-winning ways. Yasir Shah is being mentioned as a must-have for the Test in Karachi at the expense of one fast-bowler but the million-dollar question is how the crowd favourite Fawad Alam will find his way into the side. All these queries will be answered in the coming days but for now, let’s rejoice in the knowledge that cricket has well and truly come home and pray that it will be here forever.

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