KARACHI: When Australian cricket fan Luke Gillian last visited Pakistan in 1998, home supporters threw stones at him when he ventured out in public. These days everyone wants a selfie. Gillian is back in Pakistan with a small troupe of Australian super fans, dubbed the “Fanatics”, on their first tour of the country in nearly a quarter of a century — and has been blown away by the welcome they have received. Australia for 24 years, along with many international teams, declined to tour Pakistan on security grounds. The situation became worse after a fatal attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore in 2009, after which Pakistan had to play “home” games abroad for a decade, mostly in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Source: Pakistan Today March 17, 2022 13:01 UTC