India and Pakistan resumed cricketing ties Friday after three years - albeit at a low level - by fielding their blind teams for an international series starting with a fast-paced Twenty20. Pakistan has hosted no major international matches over security fears posed by al Qaeda and the Taliban since 2009, and India stalled direct cricketing ties after gunmen killed 166 people in Mumbai in late 2008.
But Pakistanis hope that a trouble-free, limited over series for blind and partially-sighted players from November 18 to 26, will convince others that the country is safe enough for mainstream sporting giants to return. "It's a historical day for us," Syed Sultan Shah, chairman of the Pakistan Blind Cricket Council (PBCC), told AFP at the Lahore Gymkhana cricket ground in the eastern city of Lahore where a crowd of 250 cheered on play.
The event is also the latest sign of a thaw in diplomatic and economic relations, although the two nuclear-armed rivals, who have fought three wars since independence from British rule in 1947, remain deeply wary. "Initially I was a little nervous just because going to Pakistan will be little insecure," Indian player Venkadeshwa Dunna, 21, told AFP. "It's fine. India and Pakistan are like brothers. There's not much difference between India and Pakistan. We feel that Pakistan is also like our home town."
It is the first time in three years that an Indian team are in Pakistan - the main cricket team last toured Pakistan for the Asia Cup in 2008 - and the first time in five years that the Indian blind team are playing Pakistan. It was in Lahore that gunmen attacked the Sri Lankan team bus in March 2009, stripping Pakistan of its 2011 World Cup co-hosting rights and forcing Pakistan to play all subsequent international fixtures abroad.
India may have beaten Pakistan in the World Cup, but Pakistan are expected to fare better this week, having won the two previous Blind Cricket World Cups, the last one at home in 2006. The Indian blind team are ranked number two. "We're trying our level best. All the players are fit and very anxious to play. We're very happy to be here," said John David, the manager of the Indian team that prepared for the match with a 12-day training camp in New Delhi.
A blind team comprises of four totally visually impaired players, three partially blind and four partially sighted players. Totally blind players are helped by a runner whose one run is counted as double, two as four and four as eight. The ball is larger than in standard cricket and is filled with ball bearings to help batsmen, bowlers and fielders sense its approach. Two other Twenty20 matches will be played in Lahore on Saturday and Sunday, with one-day matches scheduled for November 22, 24 and 26 in Islamabad.
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