More than the Pakistan team’s performance, the Champions Trophy will be an opportunity for their nation to show their ability to host top-flight international cricket.

The ICC tournament begins in Karachi on Wednesday and will be the first global event since the 1996 World Cup. The Mohsin Naqvi-led Pakistan Cricket Board has left no stone unturned to make it a success, more so in light of the BCCI’s refusal to tour the country for security reasons.

So much so that the warring factions of the PCB made it a point to exhibit their solidarity during the inauguration of the revamped Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore a few days ago. More than celebrating the completion of the stadiums within the deadline, what made for a great photo-op was the coming together of three former chairmen and Naqvi at the event.

Zaka Ashraf, Najam Sethi and Ramiz Raja were joined by Naqvi on the dais and it was obvious that the move was aimed at dispelling any lingering doubts about discord in the minds of the cricketing world.

“All of us under one roof, kamal hogaya (amazing!),” Sethi later quipped on his TV show Sethi Sey Sawal.

Sethi headed the PCB for five years. “I pushed Zaka out, he pushed me out, then Ramiz came, I pushed Ramiz out then Zaka pushed me out,” Sethi recalled. “It was the
conspiracy of Mohsin Naqvi,” he said laughing, before going on praising the current
PCB chief.

“It was not easy to bring all of us under one roof. It was a big deal, the ice has melted. Naqvi is a powerful chairman. I never thought that so much would happen so fast. The Karachi stadium is reset. Lahore is complete. History will soon say, after Shah Jahan it’s Mohsin Naqvi.

“If something good happens for the country, you appreciate it. You cannot grudge that it did not happen in your time,” Sethi remarked.

Even the free-speaking Ramiz, when it comes to criticising the current PCB administration, has tried to avoid any controversy ahead of the Champions Trophy.

Most cricketing nations had refused to tour the country since the 2009 terror attack on the Sri Lankan team bus, forcing them to play their home matches in the UAE. Only recently few nations have toured Pakistan.

Naqvi has been a man of few words unlike his predecessor Ashraf. He has put in a lot of hard work, given the extent and enormity of the task. He would visit the stadiums even at midnight to supervise the extent of upgradation and worked in proximity with the ICC stakeholders to ensure that everything was in order.

A successful tournament will have a huge impact on Pakistan’s cricketing fortunes. It took a whole lot of coaxing to convince the world that Pakistan was safe to host an event of such magnitude in three different cities.

“To see England, Australian, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan teams in Karachi and Lahore means so much to all Pakistani cricketers, board officials and the fans,” former stumper Wasim Bari, who was a PCB director when the 2009 attack took place, said.

Pakistan cricket too has suffered because of the marginalisation. A successful Champions Trophy could open new opportunities towards Pakistan’s dominance in world cricket.