The shunning of Pakistan as an international cricketing destination because of security fears is about to end with Australia announcing a tour of Pakistan, possibly in March, with a full-strength squad. Cricket Australia said no player so far has expressed any reservation about travelling to the country which did not get to host top-flight international cricket for nearly a decade due to security concerns.

The last time Pakistan had an ICC event on its soil was when it co-hosted the 1996 World Cup along with India and Sri Lanka. The terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in 2009 ensured the country went without Test cricket till 2019.

Last year, before the T20 World Cup, New Zealand and England had pulled out of the tour of Pakistan citing security concerns, with New Zealand withdrawing at the eleventh hour because of players' refusal, causing much dismay and anger in Pakistan. 

However, Australia appeared to be on track for undertaking their first tour of Pakistan in 24 years, with national selector George Bailey terming the security plans as "very, very robust and very, very thorough". The last time Australia toured Pakistan was way back in 1998,

"I believe the boards are still working through some of the minor details around that tour, so once that gets the formal tick of approval then we'll announce the squad post that, but we're reasonably well down the track," Bailey told reporters on Tuesday, according to Cricket Australia's website.

Australian players had informally told their Pakistani counterparts during the T20 World Cup in the UAE last year that they were looking forward to the tour and had sought assurances about security and other arrangements from them. 

(SAM)