Due to its varied culture, people and landscape, sport and tourism are the fastest growing industries in Pakistan, even after being considered as one of the most dangerous countries in the world. In Pakistan, there is a wide variety of attractions that ranges from the ruins of ancient civilization such as Mohenjodaro, Harappa, the Himalayan hill stations to the beauty of northern areas are famed internationally and attract those interested in sports and tourism.
Pakistan has a great range of sports but cricket seems to be the most popular followed by hockey and squash. Over recent years, there has been an increase in sporting activities in Pakistan, with Pakistani sportsmen and women participating in many national and international events. There are stadiums, sports venues that every sports fan dreams of visiting.
Gwadar cricket stadium
The venue, named ‘Senator Muhammad Ishaq Baloch Cricket Stadium’ was inaugurated last year in November by Balochistan’s Chief Minister Jam Kamal. South African spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, who is in Rawalpindi with the Test squad, was left stunned after watching the surroundings of the cricket stadium.
The scenic cricket stadium in the port city of Gwadar Balochistan has also caught the eye of the International Cricket Council (ICC). Being in awe of its beauty, the ICC shared a photo of the cricket stadium, challenging people if they have seen “a more picturesque sports venue”.
????️ Show us a more picturesque sports venue than the Gwadar cricket stadium in Balochistan.
We'll wait…
???? @falamb3 pic.twitter.com/lz6nUGr9HH
— ICC (@ICC) January 31, 2021
Third-best stadium all over the world
The 30-year-old Shamsi rated the Gwadar stadium’s picturesque surroundings as the third-best all over the world. Shamsi took to Twitter and asked whether they can shift the third T20 match to the stadium.
He tweeted and said can we move the 3rd T20 to this place?? Looks stunning! The 3 most beautiful surroundings for a cricket stadium for me would be Newlands, Dharamsala and this place.
The most beautiful cricket ground
Pakistani TV personality Fakhr-e-Alam has expressed his impression of Gwadar’s cricket stadium beauty; describing it as the “most beautiful cricket ground” he had ever seen.
Fakhr-e-Alam on Sunday uploaded a video of the beautiful Gwadar cricket ground in Balochistan, describing it as the “most beautiful cricket ground” in the region.
In a short video clip that he uploaded on Twitter, Alam urged people to come out and play cricket in the Gwadar cricket ground. The video showcased the large, lush green stadium built between a long road and the jagged edges of the mountains.
Sports- A source of better image globally
Cricket has the capacity to change people’s attitudes and it has in the past. Those religious rebels, who dispirited cricket in the 1990s, terming it a “sin”, are currently cheering it on. While the tribal areas, which were once known as the “hotspots of terrorism”, are producing extraordinary sportsmen today.
And it is for this cause that cricket should and can still be made part of the National Action Plan to free Pakistan of extremism.
Cricket can go a long way in building Pakistan’s image globally. Let’s exploit this opportunity to its full potential.
Sports role in the development of nations
Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, had a great love for the sport and fully realized the critical role it played in the development of nations and inculcation of discipline among the public. In a meeting with the Organizing Committee of the First Pakistan Olympic Games held at Karachi, Jinnah said to the first President of the Pakistan Olympic Association Mr. Ahmed E.H.:
“Dedicate yourself to sports promotion, for when you and I are gone, leadership will go into the hands of Youth, and Youth is our wealth, a raw material that must be hammered into shape, into burnished steel to strive and smite in defense – the defense of the integrity and solidarity of Pakistan – the defense of the ideology of Pakistan.”
The success of this industry can also potentially generate a whole lot of good for the government by escalating employment and foreign investments. At this critical point, the government should be clear about its own duty in developing the sports industry.
The government is responsible to find out some steps from the balance point between developing the sports industry and satisfying popular requirements, including sports venues and make the sports industry have a healthy and sustainable development.
