When the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced that it will organise the first edition of Pakistan Super League (PSL) in the UAE, some cricket pundits were of the view that it would be taken by the world that the Board also accepts Pakistan is unsafe for international action. Otherwise, it should have hosted the event at home and tried to make a clear statement that Pakistan can host foreign players and international events.

But that loud and clear message was to depend largely on foreign players’ participation. And any person reading international newspapers at that time would have come to the conclusion that chances of satisfactory international players’ participation in the first edition of PSL were slim.

According to PCB officials, PSL 2 would have also faced similar circumstances regarding foreign players’ participation had they planned to host the event in Pakistan.

However, it will not be for the first time foreign players will be seen in action on the Pakistani soil after the 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka team in Lahore.

Through the efforts of Late Dr Mohammad Ali Shah, Karachi’s National Stadium hosted two-match unofficial series between International World XI and Pakistan All Stars XI in October 2012. International World XI was led by former Sri Lankan skipper Sanath Jayasuriya.

In December 2014, a lowly-ranked Kenya arrived in Pakistan to feature in five-match one-day series against Pakistan ‘A’ side.

Zimbabwe cricket team also toured Pakistan from May 19 to 31 last year and played three One-day Internationals (ODIs) and two Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

However, the PSL 2 climax can easily be expected to have a much larger audience then all international events held after 2009 attacks. PCB must be expecting houseful at Gaddafi Stadium on March 7 next year and highest TRPs.

So, it can be hoped that that one particular final match can make that loud and clear statement, which has been expected from PCB for a long time. And we can hope and expect that in the third edition of PSL, all matches will be held in Pakistan. And hope that Pakistan can host their share of FTP calendar in the near future.

It is of utmost importance that international cricket resumes in Pakistan because a sport cannot flourish if you can’t have its matches on home soil. Our cricket chiefs should be fully aware of the fact that hosting their home games in the UAE is a temporary arrangement. It’s already been seven years that we shifted our matches to venues like Dubai and Abu Dhabi and that’s a much longer time span to be called temporary. We have to make sure that all possible steps are being taken to revive international cricket in Pakistan. Otherwise Pakistan cricket will be in grave danger.