The PCB governing board has sanctioned the purchase of bulletproof buses to ensure best security protocol for visiting teams, and thus address some of the security concerns that have prevented international teams from touring Pakistan over the last three and a half years.

Pakistan has been a no-go zone for major international teams after the attack on Sri Lankan team - their bus was shot at by gunmen near Gaddafi Stadium in March 2009, and the attack injured five cricketers and killed six security men and two civilians. Since then, Pakistan have been playing their 'home' series abroad, and the PCB has been trying to bring international cricket back to the country. Now, the PCB hopes it can be revived as early as next year, following the successful staging of two exhibition Twenty20s involving an International World XI in Karachi last week.

The PCB relies heavily on the government with regards to providing the visiting teams' security. The bullet proof buses will be an additional safety measure for visiting teams, ensuring box security while travelling. The buses were sanctioned at the PCB governing board meeting on Thursday in Abbottabad, the garrison town north of Islamabad.

"To ensure best security protocols for international teams, the Board of Governors unanimously approved the purchase of bullet proof buses," the PCB said in a statement. "The members noted that the step would enable the PCB to achieve higher security measures for the teams visiting Pakistan in future."

Apart from working on security protocol, the PCB has been working on identifying potential new venues for international cricket across the country and upgrading them to international standards. The board had visited the Abbottabad cricket stadium and, at the meeting, approved a Rs 12.5 million budget for its upgrading and development.

Earlier this year the PCB had identified a 35-acre piece of land in Islamabad, where a stadium that is meant to be the biggest in the country, with a capacity of capacity of 50,000, will be developed. "The board unanimously decided to name the stadium after Mohtarma Shaheed Benazir Bhutto," the PCB statement said.

The stadium will be in the Shakarparian area of Islamabad, with multiple facilities that include a cricket ground, a cricket academy and lodging facility. According to the Memorandum of Understanding between the PCB and Capital Development Authority (CDA), the PCB will receive 70% of the revenue generated by the stadium, while the CDA will take 30%.

Also at the meeting, the governing board reviewed the progress made in bringing together Pakistan's proposed Twenty20 league. "The board was updated on the progress thus far and a roadmap was shared with them," the statement said. "The board appreciated it as a positive initiative for the revival of international cricket in Pakistan." The league is planned for March 2013, immediately after Pakistan's South Africa tour, which ends on March 24.

The board also sanctioned the use of Kookaburra balls in domestic cricket, terming it a 'positive step' for the improvement of the domestic game. The PCB is yet to introduce the balls in the ongoing President's Trophy; the fifth round of the tournament, starting from November 2, will be played with the imported balls.


Pakistan Cricket News: PCB to buy bulletproof buses | ESPN Cricinfo

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Shit happens, and then you die!!!

damnnn they are buidling a stadium near shakarparian? thats awesome! can't wait to see it seriously!

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yeah, but why are they not expanding the capacity of National Stadium and Ghaddafi stadium? 35,000 is a joke for 20 million population.

National stadium is still a single deck stadium and Ghaddafi is marginally bigger in capacity. Those stadiums should be at least 70,000 capacity. Plus the boundaries in nearly all Pakistan stadiums are very short, I don't think they are 60 meters. And it's not that they cannot be increased, because on TV you can see there is so much ground area left spared behind the boundary lines.

I don't know what the heck PCB is doing.

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kya bood-o-bash poocho ho purab ke sakino! hum ko gareeb jan ke, hans hans pukar ke...
jis ko falak ne loot ke veeran kar diya, hum rehne walay hain usi ujray dyar ke -

it's simple.

isb>lhr>khi

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smh

lol..okay

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kya bood-o-bash poocho ho purab ke sakino! hum ko gareeb jan ke, hans hans pukar ke...
jis ko falak ne loot ke veeran kar diya, hum rehne walay hain usi ujray dyar ke -

isloo all the way baby!

where are you from in pakistan?

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peer wadhai

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kya bood-o-bash poocho ho purab ke sakino! hum ko gareeb jan ke, hans hans pukar ke...
jis ko falak ne loot ke veeran kar diya, hum rehne walay hain usi ujray dyar ke -

mohtarma shaheed bhutto? SERIOUSLY?

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[QUOTE=PKB;2306646]Naveen is hot n sexy :)[/QUOTE]

better than gaddafi.

Can PCB shut their mouth for disclousing security stregedy towards international team..wahi baat hogaye "aa bail mujhay maar" bullet proof bus banwani hia tu batanay ki kia zarurat hai...can they not hide from public and media.

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Not only that but it also sends a strong signal that there are still major isssues with the ground security and wrong doers may still find holes to intrude.
Police aur security Walay alug bey fikar hokar gharron Mein sotay rahangey k Chalo yar ab tou bullet proof bus agaiee hai hamaray honay na honay sey Kia farq parta hai?

But seriously I still don't understand why is PCB hell bent in bringing back intl cricket to Pakistan when situation is clearly NOT favorable? And then major test playing teams already have such a tight schedule, why the heck would they take risk to alter their lucrative calender and play in Pakistan?

What's the point of keep playing with Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, Somalia, Timbuktuu? If we keep playing weaker teams then only those weaker teams will benefit and improve their cricket and in return our standard will keep going down to a point where they will meet us in halfway and start beating us.

Teams like Australia, England and South Africa will not be convinced to see those Lallu panju teams and retired cricketers visiting Pakistan.
And then look at amount of risk here ... God forbids an unfortunate incident against a visiting Burkina Faso team, and Pakistan is done for the next 10 years.

Why not spend money time and resources and try to arrange as many foriegn tours for Pak team and try to build good relationship with ECB to make it another neutral venue that could potentially be quite lucrative?

because you can't keep playing away from home, it is mentally and physically exhausting for the players and their families. also a generation of fans are growing up never having seen their heroes playing live in front of them, and a generation of players has never played an international match at home. all these are big issues and require prompt resolution. finally, you are being a huge drama queen regarding security in pakistan. its nothing like it was 2007-2010, things are much more stable now. i think the time is right to try inviting foreign teams back. most importantly, there is a board in place that will ensure that things like security are not overlooked unlike butt sahab who problably slept though the meeting when security was discussed. fine teams like bangladesh and zimbabwe might not convince anyone, but teams like sri lanka and potentially india touring will. australia will never tour pakistan regardless of how safe it is s forget abouthtem, but after a few safe tours england will def come down, nz probably too. either way, the time is right to resume international cricket in pakistan.

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Bullet proof buses?

What's next a tank/military helicopter to accompany the bus? Guys, I understand what they're doing but to me it just doesn't make sense. If you need bullet proof buses then clearly Pakistan is still unsafe to play in.

they don't NEED bullet proof buses they are getting them to help visiting teams feel more secure. no matter how safe the country gets there will always be an impression that pakistan is unsafe, and so it is to ease some of those worries that pcb is taking this step. i think it's a great move.

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Well that's a difference of opinion and our own perception of the situation when we talk about how secure is Pakistan for visiting international teams of high caliber.
Also, there is a difference of opinion when we talk about playing at home vs playing abroad. I think our players will definitely become more war hardened the more they play abroad. They will face resistance and also get experience of all different kinds weather conditions, playing conditions and different pitch conditions. Otherwise, we keep playing at home pitches and become "ghar mein sher bahir billi".

Plus watching cricket in Pakistan is quite odd and ugly. Fog and air polluted filled dark and gloomy atmosphere in the middle of the day. Jahil type crowd in lose shalwar qameez who get loud when camera is flashed on some female who feels embarrassed as its against her will to become an object of amusement for the sexually frustrated crowd.

Games in Australia, England, and South Africa ... wah wah .. uska apna maza he alug hai. Folks like you and me primarily watch and wait when the camera flashes on those nice young sexy blond beauties taking a worry free sun bath.
Now please don't come back and say you close your eyes and start reciting Lahola Wallah Quwat in those moments, and ask your friends ... "Yar kia ab camera wahaan sey hutt gaya hai aur ab mein aankhayn khole loon"?