West Indian batting legend Vivian Richards is the latest addition to the list of former players who have expressed their frustration over not seeing any international cricket in Pakistan. Richards is currently working as a mentor of the Pakistan Super League side Quetta Gladiators in Dubai.
The batting great said that he is pained to see international cricket teams not touring Pakistan for the past seven years.
The last international Test series to be held in Pakistan was against Sri Lanka in 2009, during which the Sri Lankan team bus was attacked by terrorists. Since then, international teams have refused to play cricket in the country.
Zimbabwe, however, broke the shackles last year, when they visited Pakistan for limited-overs fixtures, but the same hasn’t been able to draw the attention of any other Test playing nation.
The Caribbean legend said, "It is painful to see no international cricket being played in Pakistan since 2009. I have been to Pakistan several times and always found it to be a country of passionate cricket fans and lovers,"
He added, "It is unfortunate that security circumstances are keeping teams away from Pakistan because it is a leading cricket nation and destination,"
It would have been great to have the PSL launch in Pakistan
The 63-year-old cricketer said, "It would have been great to have the PSL launch in Pakistan. But the good thing is that finally Pakistan has launched its own league and I don't see any reason it shouldn't succeed."
Richards admitted his fondness to Pakistani cricket because of its ability to produce exceptional raw talent and held PSL as the biggest platform for young Pakistani players. He said, "Whenever I toured Pakistan I was always surprised to see the talent they possessed. I see the PSL as the biggest platform for the young players in Pakistan to showcase their talent to the world and also learn a lot by playing with top players of the world."
The West Indian believes that Pakistan could go to the top of the cricketing world if the players were groomed and looked after well. Pakistan has enough raw enough talent to make a mark in international cricket according to him.
He is in Dubai for the entire period of the PSL and said he was enjoying his spell with the Quetta Gladiators as it had some exciting young players who are aggressive in nature. He concluded, "When I was playing, West Indies were at the top of the world, but Pakistan, with their aggressive cricket and talent, always posed a big challenge for us.”
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