18: 30: World XI captain Faf du Plessis won the toss and elected to bowl first against Pakistan in the first match of the Independence Cup at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. 

Faf said: Pakistan are a dangerous time, but we have very good players in our squad.

“It’s pretty new for all of us, we’ve got a long batting order and gives us an opportunity to look at the wicket. It’s an honour to lead the World XI. It’s not about ourselves, great to see we can play a small part in bringing cricket back to Pakistan. No egos.”

Sarfraz Ahmad said that he too would have liked to bowl first.

“We wanted to bat first anyway. Players are excited, many are playing for the first time. Our focus is on cricket, the past is the past. We have an excellentteam.”

18: 00: World XI players have been brought to Gaddafi Stadium Ground in open-top decorated rickshaws amid a warm welcome from passionate fans.

Pakistani cricketers have also reached the ground.

Meanwhile, hundreds of people are lining up outside the ground to get in.

Match to begin at 7pm

The match is scheduled to get under way at 7pm.

Tickets available

According to reports, the crowd has built up slowly so far. There are plenty of people outside.

PCB Chairman Najam Sethi  tweeted that tickets are available for all three games

“This is a BEST #of 3 match series. As such there is no FINAL match. Therefore buy tickets NOW for all three matches,” Sethi said.

Pakistan XI are all excited and raring to take on the World XI in the opener of Independence Day being played this evening in Lahore’s Qaddafi stadium.

A World XI squad comprising 14 players from eight top cricket-playing nations landed in Lahore early Monday amid massive security, with Pakistan hoping the tour will end years of international isolation.

Pakistan has not hosted top-level international cricket — barring five limited over matches against minnows Zimbabwe in 2015 — since the Sri Lankan team bus was attacked by terrorists in March 2009, killing eight people and injuring seven players and staff.

The World XI, which will play three Twenty20 internationals from Tuesday, arrived around 2:00am Pakistan time (2100 GMT) with air surveillance and dozens of police vans in attendance as the team was whisked to their hotel.

Both the hotel and stadium will be cordoned off with 9,000 police and paramilitary staff deployed during the next five days.

The World XI is led by South African skipper Faf du Plessis and coached by former Zimbabwe batsman and ex-England coach Andy Flower.

A fourteenth player, Samuel Badree of the West Indies, has arrived belatedly.

Earlier on Sunday Malik Mohammad Khan, a spokesperson for the government of Punjab province, of which Lahore is the capital, said authorities were providing “foolproof security for the World XI with a big contingent of security officials deployed”.

Parts of the city near the stadium will be cordoned off, with shops and restaurants around the venue to be shut for the duration of the series while spectators will have to pass through multiple security checkpoints.

Since the 2009 attack Pakistan have been forced to play most of their “home” games in the United Arab Emirates — with the Pakistan Cricket Board complaining they have incurred losses of around $120 million.

But security has dramatically improved across Pakistan in the last two years, signalling hopes for the slow revival of international sport in the country.

In March, Pakistan successfully hosted the Pakistan Super League Twenty20 final in Lahore with English players Dawid Malan and Chris Jordan, West Indies’ Darren Sammy and Marlon Samuels and South Africa’s Morne van Wyk and Zimbabwe’s Sean Ervine competing. –

Everything you need to know about Pakistan vs World XI

The Independence Cup includes three T20 internationals scheduled for September 12, 13 and 15 at the Gaddafi stadium.

All three T20 matches between Pakistan and World XI will be played at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore on Sept 12, 13 and 15.

The match will be broadcast live on DSports in India, Prime TV – UK, Ghazi TV – Bangladesh, Willow TV, USA, Dialog – Sri Lanka and cricketgateway.com.

In Pakistan, match can be seen live on PTV Sports, Ten Sports and Pakistan Television Broadcasters.

SAMAA TV will also broadcast ball by ball commentary of the matches.

The live broadcast of the first T20I between Pakistan and World XI match will start at 07:00 PM IST (14:00 GMT).

Squad

Team Pakistan 16-member squad

1. Sarfraz Ahmad (Captain – WK)
2. Fakhar Zaman
3. Ahmed Shehzad
4. Baber Azam
5. Shoaib Malik
6. Umer Amin
7. Imad Wasim
8. Shadab Khan
9. Muhammad Nawaz
10. Faheem Ashraf
11. Hassan Ali
12. Amir Yamin
13. Muhammad Amir
14. Ruman Raees
15. Usman Shinwari
16. Sohail Khan

World XI

1. Faf du Plessis (captain) (South Africa)
2. Hashim Amla (South Africa)
3. Samuel Badree (Windies)
4. George Bailey (Australia)
5. Paul Collingwood (England)
6. Ben Cutting (Australia)
7. Grant Elliott (New Zealand)
8. Tamim Iqbal (Bangladesh)
9. David Miller (South Africa)
10. Morne Morkel (South Africa)
11. Tim Paine (wicketkeeper) (Australia)
12. Thisara Perera (Sri Lanka)
13. Imran Tahir (South Africa)
14. Darren Sammy (Windies)

SAMAA/AFP