World XI have finally descended on Pakistan soil for 3 T20I matches against Pakistan. This is the first time international cricket will be played in Pakistan since 2009 when the Sri Lankan team bus was attacked by unidentified terrorists. World XI comprises of big stars like Faf Du Plessis, who will be leading the outfit which comprises of international cricketers like Darren Sammy and Hashim Amla. It is also learnt that ace speedster Mohammad Aamir will not be able to participate in the three-match series.
Chairman Najam Sethi, sports minister Jahangir Khanzada along with other officials were present at Lahore airport to receive the Faf du Plessis-led World XI side.
Meanwhile, in addition to these developments, former Pakistan cricketer Shahid Afridi seems to be not content with the list of players in the World XI squad. Though excited, he said he would have preferred if Indian cricketers like Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni were also a part of the extravaganza.
In an exclusive talk with BBC Urdu, he said, “A couple of Indian players could have sent a good message as sports can help resolve quite serious issues.”
Twitter too, feels Indians should have been on board:
Virat Kohli and Dhoni in Lahore, One Can Only Imagine this.#WorldXIvPak
— Tanzeel (@Tanzeelified) June 27, 2017
The arrival of the World XI team and the Pakistani officials are there to welcome the cricketers.
And they’re here. @NajamSethi welcomes #WorldXI in #Pakistan. #CricketInPakistan #pakvswxi pic.twitter.com/VT5LdvwmA5
— Aircraft Engn __ (@Abdullah_sahaab) September 11, 2017
The jersey of the World XI outfit was also revealed:
Coach of World XI Andy Flower presenting the playing shirt to captain @faf1307 #PAKvWXI #cricketkihalalala pic.twitter.com/WwHYWDNOZ1
— PCB Official (@TheRealPCB) September 11, 2017
Faf du Plessis and Andy Flower press conference in Lahore https://t.co/CUQoiLekos
— PCB Official (@TheRealPCB) September 11, 2017
Pakistan Cricket Board will be hoping for a change in the status quo by maintaining a cordial relationship with the ICC as well as conducting the matches without any incident or security breaches. The three-match series will start at 2000 hrs IST. Pakistani channel ‘DSport’ will be broadcasting the matches.
World XI squad: David Miller, Morne Morkel, Tim Paine, Thisara Perera, Imran Tahir, Darren Sammy, Hashim Amla, Grant Elliott, Samuel Badree, George Bailey, Tamim Iqbal, Paul Collingwood, Ben Cutting, Faf du Plessis(c)
Pakistan Squad: Sarfraz Ahmed (c & wk), Fakhar Zaman, Ahmed Shehzad, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Umar Amin, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Fahim Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Aamer Yamin, Mohammad Amir, Rumman Raees, Usman Khan, Sohail Khan
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