Champions Trophy will rekindle Pakistan's love of cricket, say former captains

ISLAMABAD : Cricket fans in Pakistan are buzzing ahead of the Champions Trophy and hosting the elite one-day international tournament will rekindle the country's love affair with the sport, three former captains said.

The event, which features the sport's top eight sides in the ODI format, begins on Wednesday with the hosts up against New Zealand in Karachi.

It will be the first major global tournament hosted by Pakistan in nearly 30 years and former batting great Inzamam Ul Haq told Reuters there was no escaping the excitement in the lead-up to the event.

"Right now everyone is talking about the Champions Trophy, in schools, houses, markets, offices, everywhere," he added.

Pakistan spent nearly a decade in the wilderness after gunmen attacked the Sri Lankan cricket team's bus in Lahore in 2009, wounding six players.

Top teams shunned Pakistan after the 2009 attack and it took the Pakistan Cricket Board years to convince foreign counterparts that it was safe to visit.

"The events of 2009 feel like a bad dream," Inzamam said. "We were punished for 10 years. Our cricket went backwards."

The national team, captained for the bulk of those years by Misbah Ul Haq, hosted its 'home' games in the United Arab Emirates and remained relatively successful until fixtures trickled back onto Pakistani soil in 2018.

"For fans and young cricketers to see the stars playing live is a big deal," said Misbah, Pakistan's most successful test captain. "Not having that meant the whole cricket machinery was jammed."

Former captain Aamer Sohail said the connection between fans and players was evident at Wednesday's warm-up game against South Africa where Pakistan reeled in the visitors' 352 to complete their highest successful ODI run chase.

"What was