After 24 years for the first time since 1998 , Australia will tour Pakistan for a full fledged tour of Tests, ODIs and T20I series. This is a very significant moment not just for Pakistan cricket but also cricket for the entire world because the stronger Pakistan cricket gets , the better the sport of cricket will be because of it. The cricket loving passionate fans of Pakistan deserve to see international stars coming to play there and get entertained and maybe get inspired to become cricketers themselves.
Since 2009, cricket in Pakistan is almost not there and especially international cricket and it’s because the security situation in Pakistan has not been condusive to play cricket after the Sri Lankan team was attacked while going to the airport from terrorists and they were lucky that nothing happened to them. Since then the ICC banned all international cricket in the nation.
Also Read | Golden Era of Pakistan Cricket Team in the 1990s
So let’s take a look at the turbulent journey of Pakistan cricket over the years.
The Glory Days
In the early 1980s and 1990s cricket in Pakistan was at its absolute peak, all the international teams toured Pakistan and as a result this was the time when the best fast bowlers and the best batters came from that country and the other teams feared then and playing against them in their home as they would thrash every team that would come to tour them. Players like Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Zaheer Abbas, Wasim Akram,Waqar Younis etc were the backbone of the Pakistan team and they formed a lethal combination as a team and this was a result of them playing many matches at their home grounds.
The downfall
After so many years at the top of the cricketing world, came the 2000s and that is when teams started touring Pakistan less and less , Australia toured last in 1998, India last toured in 2006, New Zealand in 2003 etc so during that time the quality of the players also started getting less and less and they were not as potent a team as they were before. The turning point came in 2009 when Sri Lanka were on the tour to Pakistan and once while the team was going to the airport they were attacked with bullets in their bus and they were extremely lucky to get away unscathed and since then international cricket was banned in Pakistan and rightfully so because the security of the players is paramount and once only this factor is taken into account then the teams can start going there.
The Revival
After every downfall there is also revival and that is what is happening at the moment in Pakistan cricket. Firstly the Pakistan Super League which is the T20 league of that nation started happening there and more and more cricketers started visiting Pakistan again and they would advertise that it is safe to play cricket in Pakistan and some of the legends from other nations were also invited to take a tour and they would also give a positive feedback. So, teams like Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, West Indies started going there and they also gave glowing reviews so finally after all this journey Australia is coming to Pakistan to play a full fledged series and they will be followed by 2 tours of England and a tour of New Zealand will also happen which is also good for cricket in Pakistan.
