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CALM BEFORE THE BLITZ . . . Zimbabwe skipper Elton Chigumbura (left) and his Pakistan counterpart Shahid Afridi greet each other during the unveiling of the trophy that the two nations will battle for in their Twenty20 showdown starting today in Lahore, Pakistan — AFP

KARACHI. — Zimbabwe’s tour, which gets underway today at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore in a Twenty20 tie, signals the revival of international cricket here in Pakistan.

While the country still reels from the spate of violence it has suffered in recent times, the return of cricket will lift heavy hearts when the two sides take to the Gaddafi pitch for two T20Is and three ODIs.

The last multi-nation tournament to be held in Pakistan was the Asia Cup in 2008.

Under the chairmanship of Nasim Ashraf, the Pakistan Cricket Board succeeded in convincing major teams such as India and Sri Lanka — besides Bangladesh, Hong Kong and the UAE — to travel to the country as a largely successful tournament was staged in Lahore and Karachi despite the country plummeting into a deeply chaotic state of terror.

The last international team to tour Pakistan was Sri Lanka who infamously left the tour after being targeted by terrorists during the second and final Test of their 2009 tour.

From there on, it has been a series of ups and downs but a long hard road has finally ended in success.

March 2009 — Sri Lankan team attack

Like the Karachi Test — where Younus Khan racked up 313 — the batsman-friendly wicket in Lahore had provided another run glut during the first two days.

But the players didn’t even make it to the ground on day three as, merely minutes away from the stadium’s entrance, gunmen opened fire at the Sri Lankan team bus. Several were killed and many others injured but other than batsman Thilan Samaraweera, none of the players were seriously hurt in the ambush.

April 2009 — Losing the 2011 World Cup hosting rights

“It is a regrettable decision [but] our number one priority is to create certainty and deliver a safe, secure and successful event,” the then ICC president David Morgan announced in a statement; stripping the hosting rights from Pakistan — who were supposed to be one of the co-hosts of the 2011 World Cup. The tournament was eventually hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh with Pakistan’s group games instead hosted in Colombo and Pallekele.

The then PCB chairman Ijaz Butt once again cut a helpless figure when asked to explain the ICC decision.

“It’s a disappointing decision but it can’t be helped. Nobody wants to play in Pakistan following the attacks in Lahore,” said Butt.

October 2012 and April 2013 — Bangladesh snub tours

After Butt ‘served out’ his tenure, his replacement Zaka Ashraf tried to rebuild the bridges and approached Bangladesh for a short tour in October 2012. After a series of negotiations with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) officials, Ashraf made a claim that a tour will take place in December 2012.

But then Bangladesh backed out. After another series of meetings and the visit of a high-level delegation led by board president Mustafa Kamal, a new date — April 2013 — was announced for a two-match tour (one ODI and one T20).

But again, just days before the tour a petition, questioning the security and safety of the team in Pakistan, moved in the Dhaka High Court disengaged the two boards and Bangladesh backed out of its commitment once more, much to the dismay of the PCB since the Pakistan board had withdrawn their right of nominating the ICC Vice-President in favour of the BCB candidate.

December 2014 — Kenya tour

to Lahore

After Zaka Ashraf was sent packing following a series of court battles with Najam Sethi, the reins of the PCB were eventually handed to seasoned diplomat Shaharyar Khan last August. In December last year, Kenya became the second ICC associate team after Afghanistan to tour Pakistan since the Sri Lanka attack.

The series included five unofficial ODI games against the Pakistan A side. Like the tour of Zimbabwe, all games were scheduled at the Gaddafi Stadium and attracted decent crowds to the venue despite stringent security measures.

The incident-free series was to prove a major step in ensuring the Zimbabwe tour; conversely though, the barbaric tragedy in Peshawar — the terror attack at the Army Public School — coincided with one of the ODIs and dampened the spirits of players on both sides.

May 2015 — Zimbabwe confirm Pakistan tour after security team’s visit

After lengthy deliberations on the sidelines of April’s ICC Executive Board meeting in Dubai, Zimbabwe Cricket officials confirmed that they were deliberating upon the possibility of touring Pakistan.

The prospects of the series were further strengthened when the PCB agreed to cover all expenses of the tour except the allowances of the touring squad.

Last week was then shrouded in uncertainty as ZC conveyed to the international media that they were pulling out of the tour in the aftermath of a bus attack in Karachi, only to change their stance within minutes as PCB’s think-tank made desperate efforts to salvage the tour.

There was success at long last for the cricket board as a squad of 28 players and officials arrived in the wee hours of May 19 to trigger a rousing welcome both at the airport and the team hotel.

The Zimbabweans are currently enjoying Lahore’s hospitality and all efforts are being made to make the tourists feel at home as millions of cricket fans, both in and outside Pakistan, eagerly await the unfolding of the action in the first Twenty20 at the Gaddafi Stadium today. — Express Tribune.