Zimbabwe went ahead with the final ODI and PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan said it was a complete team effort which helped the revival, hailing the courage of the police.
“I think praise is due to an unknown policeman guarding the team to the government and to every cricket fan who packed the stadium despite security hassles and made this a successful and safe series,” Shaharyar said.
Fans waited in blistering temperatures exceeding 40 Celsius to pass through numerous security checkpoints on their way to the ground — a testimony to the enthusiasm for the return of live action.
Zimbabwe pressed ahead with the tour despite scepticism from the international players’ union and the fact the International Cricket Council (ICC) said it would not send neutral umpires over safety fears.
An attack by militants on a bus in Karachi that left 45 people dead just days before the tour created further doubts, but Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) managing director Alistair Campbell said his country was glad to have played its part in Pakistan’s cricket revival.
“It was a tough decision to send the team, especially with opposition by some people in the wake of killings in Karachi, but in the end we are happy that we played a part in the cricket revival in Pakistan with a safe and successful tour,” he said.
“The passion of the people was amazing and for the first time in the sub-continent I saw people clapping for the opposition in a packed stadium.”
PCB is now hoping Sri Lanka will agree to tour, possibly next year.
Sri Lanka Cricket’s interim committee chairman Sidath Wettimuny, who was at the third ODI, said he was delighted at the success of the tour.
“We are really happy that somebody has come to Pakistan to kick off international cricket here,” he said.
“I am amazed with crowd. They have shown that they want to see international cricket and it is a great start for Pakistan.”
But the scars of the 2009 gun and rocket attack, which claimed eight lives, are still raw and Wettimuny was cautious about sending his team to Pakistan.
“It’s too early to say anything. It was important to come here and it was a goodwill gesture on our part. We have always been very supportive of Pakistan cricket. I will go back and tell our board what I have seen and take it from there,” he said.