T20 win revives hopes for cricket in embattled Pakistan by AFP

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Event:

ICC World Twenty20 2009

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DateLine: 23rd June 2009

 

Pakistan revelled in its World Twenty20 triumph Monday, as former cricket greats voiced hopes that the victory could help restore the strife-torn nation's place in international cricket.

 

Celebrations continued into the night Sunday with cricket fans gathering around screens in homes, public places and on street corners as Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by eight wickets in London to hoist the Twenty20 Cricket World Cup.

 

Thousands of people congregated at markets, parks and streets throughout the country, dancing, waving cricket bats and shouting "Long Live Pakistan" -- an unusual sight in a nation cowed by suicide attacks by Taliban militants.

 

"It is a great win... It is a bit early to say but the win will definitely have an impact. People will treat Pakistan as a serious cricketing nation," former captain Ramiz Raja told AFP.

 

"It will definitely lift the gloom in the country, as suddenly the team has given a reason for the people to smile and celebrate," he added.

 

Sunday's victory saw captain Younus Khan lead Pakistan to their second major title, after Imran Khan captained them to World Cup glory in Australia in 1992.

 

"The 1992 win was great, but this one is bigger because of the attack on the Sri Lankan team in Pakistan just three months ago," said Raja, a member of the victorious 1992 squad.

 

Pakistan's already-bruised reputation as an international cricket venue was shattered on March 3 this year when insurgents launched a gun and grenade attack on the Sri Lankan team as they travelled to a match in the city of Lahore.

 

The brazen assault left seven Sri Lankan players and their assistant coach injured and killed six policemen and two civilians.

 

After the attacks, the International Cricket Council (ICC) stripped Pakistan of its share of World Cup 2011 matches -- the second major event shifted from the country after the Champions Trophy 2009 was moved to South Africa.

 

Even before the assault, foreign teams were refusing to tour the country over security fears. Australia postponed a tour in March last year, forcing the one-day series to be played in the United Arab Emirates in April-May this year.

 

"After this win, we demand the cricket world to give us back our share of World Cup matches because we badly need cricket in our country," said another former captain, Javed Miandad, who played in the World Cup 17 years ago.

 

"We deserve better treatment after proving that we are world champions," Miandad told AFP.

 

Meher Khalil, the bus driver whose actions were credited with saving the Sri Lankan team in the Lahore attack, agreed with Miandad.

 

"The whole nation watching the final without any security fears has proven that we can also host matches," said Khalil. "Pakistan should be given back its share of World Cup matches -- it is our right."

 

A wave of Taliban-linked violence has killed about 1,995 people in Pakistan during two years of insurgency.

 

Now a fierce, almost two-month long military offensive against the Islamist extremists in the northwest's Swat valley has forced about two million people to flee their homes, many living in desperate conditions in camps and relatives' homes.

 

"I will give full credit to (captain) Younus. He was saying right from the first day that he wanted to win the cup for his people who have been suffering badly," said another former batsman Basit Ali.

 

"It is a gift for the suffering people of Swat."

 

At Charsadda camp for displaced people near the capital of North West Frontier Province, Peshawar, hundreds of refugees had gathered around small TVs to revel in the triumph.

 

"We are homeless, we are not feeling good here, our life is full of tears and sadness, but the victory gave us joy and happiness," 25-year-old Watan Khan, who fled Swat valley, told AFP by telephone from the camp.

(Article: Copyright © 2009 AFP)