World XI tour to Pakistan to help restore international cricket: Waqar

LAHORE, Aug 24 (APP): Former Pakistan cricket captain, Waqar Younis
said on Thursday said that the tour of World XI would help restore international cricket to Pakistan.
“It is a step forward to bring back international cricket to Pakistan
and it is going to be a memorable occasion in Pakistan’s cricket
history when the World XI will play three T20 matches next month here”, he
told media at meet the press programme arranged by Sports Journalists Association of Lahore.
Waqar expressed his delight on the tour of World XI and said Pakistani
people will be watching international cricket in their own backyard after a long gap.
“It is good to see that positive things are happening in Pakistan
cricket after a long time,” he added.
Waqar said that successful holding of the first two editions of the
Pakistan Super League (PSL) has added to the respect of the Pakistan
cricket and brought overall improvement in country’s cricket.
“PSL has helped in identifying new cricket talent which played an
important role Pak team’s success in the Champions trophy,” he said adding “Victory in champions trophy is very important for Pakistan cricket and it has elevated country’s image and giving new identity to our cricket.”
He said that apart from holding matches of PSL and other international
events at Lahore, it is necessary to organise matches at Karachi, which
is a great part of country’s cricket.
He urged the PCB authorities to resolve the issue between Umar Akmal
and coach Mickey Arthur in an amicable manner.
“I think Umar himself is responsible for the trouble, but he should be
given some time to get out of this phase to return to cricket to show his full form and fitness,” he said.
To a question, he said the increase in the incidents of match fixing or
spot fixing is a worrying sign for international cricket and called for launching collective efforts to overcome these negative tactics in the game.
Waqar said even success of Pak team in the champions trophy, a lot of
hard work and extra ordinary efforts are needed to maintain consistency at the international level.
Answering a question he underlined the importance of physical fitness
in the game and said greater efforts are needed to improve the physical fitness of home players and it is a good sign that foreign experts
are attached with the Pak team and working on this important aspect.
The former captain was of the view that a lot of experiments have been
made with the domestic cricket in Pakistan which can bring negative
impact.
“There is dire need to make domestic cricket events offering more cash
incentives to the players,” he said.