Cricket News

‘That difficult period has passed’ – Shahid Afridi recalls Pakistan’s struggling days after terrorist attack on Sri Lanka in 2009

Afridi said that the grounds were turned into Wedding Halls.

Nov 16, 2022 1:28 pm

Pakistan have been having a great time in international cricket off late. They managed to reach the final of the 20-20 World Cup 2022 and also played the final of the Asia Cup in September. Even though the ‘Men-in-Green’ failed to clinch their second 20-20 World Cup title, their resurgence in international cricket is commendable. Seeing Pakistan return back to form, former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi remembered the struggling days of their team when teams refused to tour Pakistan following a terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in 2009.

“Our grounds were turned into wedding halls. We wanted to play on our grounds. It was a difficult period for Pakistan cricket, we were missing our crowd. The people who have worked to make this happen, have put in a lot of effort. The board, the government. They played an important role. We used to convince cricketers outside when we used to go and play in other leagues, county cricket, that through their help we’ll be able to bring cricket back in our country. When cricket returned, a good message was sent from Pakistan, that we are sports loving nation and that we want to watch and play cricket on our ground here,” Shahid Afridi said on Samaa TV.

The teams started touring Pakistan : Shahid Afridi

“That difficult period has passed. The teams started touring Pakistan. Some pulled out Australia came, England came. These were things our crowd was missing,” Afridi added.

Coming back to the final of the 20-20 World Cup, after being put in to bat first Pakistan posted 137/8 in their allotted 20 overs. Sam Curran was the pick of the bowlers for England picking up 3-12 while Adil Rashid and Chris Jordan picked up two wickets each.

In reply, England faced a tough challenge from Pakistan seamers as they were 49-3 in the sixth over. They kept losing wickets at regular intervals in their chase but all-rounder But Stokes made sure there were no hiccups in their chase with his gritty half-century. England chased down the target with six balls to spare and clinched their second 20-20 World Cup title. Sam Curran was awarded both ‘Player of the Match’ and ‘Player of the Tournament’.