Young fans rejoice as Test cricket returns to the city

KARACHI: After a hiatus of more than a decade, Test cricket returned to the iconic National Stadium with Pakistan playing Sri Lanka in the second match of the series and fans at the ground were excited to witness international stars during the opening day here on Thursday.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) allowed free entry to students in four enclosures and many of the young fans from schools and colleges were seen enjoying the match till the end of first day’s play.

While talking to this correspondent, some of the young fans who were in their schools uniforms said that they had never witnessed an international Test match live and thanked the Sri Lankan team for visiting Pakistan. Apart from boys, a large number of girl students were also seen enjoying the match.

Around five thousand spectators in different enclosures witnessed the first day of the second Test and were also seen enjoying food items which were being sold at reasonable price.

Meanwhile, former Test player Rashid Khan termed it a historic occasion.

“Test cricket has returned to Pakistan after 10 years and credit for that must be given to PCB chairman Ehsan Mani and CEO Wasim Khan. We are a cricket-loving country and fans here were deprived of witnessing the action for so long,” he said.

Former first-class player and commentator Haris Khan also termed it a memorable day and praised the PCB management for organising the match.

“Karachi is a city of more than 20 million people who badly wanted some enjoyment and the game of cricket is a great source of pleasure for us,” he said.

An even larger number of young spectators are now expected to be present at the stadium this weekend due to winter vacations.