Australia's cricket team is in Pakistan for the first time in 24 years. Here's how local authorities plan to keep them safe

In Pakistan, cricket is practically a religion. 

The nation has bred some of the world's best players, Prime Minister Imran Khan was a World Cup-winning captain and generations of kids play the game on every street corner, trying to make it into the big leagues.

But no major cricket nation has staged a full tour of the country in decades because of the threat of terror attacks.

The situation has sidelined a country that is both obsessed with the sport and worried about its reputation politically on the world stage.

The Australian cricket team is now in Pakistan for its first tour of the country in 24 years, preparing for a fully-fledged bilateral series that begins today. 

Pakistani authorities aren't taking any risks, deploying 4,100 security personnel, army snipers and road closures for the players. 

«The Australian team has been granted the status of state guest,» Omer Saeed, City Police Officer for the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi, said. 

«This status is only granted to world leaders or a PM or president coming from all over the world. 

»The Australian team is coming after 24 years and it's a great honour for us and a great honour for all Pakistanis that Australia has committed to sending its team and obviously, they are conscious of the security issues." 

Australian players were initially apprehensive about travelling to Pakistan.

In January, a bomb went off in the city of Lahore, killing three people and adding to a list of hundreds of terror attacks and threats in the last few years alone. 

International cricket stopped in Pakistan after a fatal terror attack on the Sri Lankan team's bus in 2009.

Although the country's authorities said all resources are going into protecting the Australian players during this tour, they