Australian cricket fans ‘love’ their stay in Rawalpindi, say Pakistan’s famous friendliness is real – Reuters
Juan J. Monroe 
The Australian team’s historic tour of Pakistan has local cricket fans excited for obvious reasons, but even their excitement fades when compared to a group of diehards who have come all the way from Australia to see their beloved team clash with the men of Babar Azam in Pakistan. ground after more than 23 years.
Edward Hill, one of a group of five Australian fans currently in Rawalpindi, was asked how he was enjoying his time in Pakistan.
“I love it. I’ve been thinking about coming to Pakistan since 1998. I’ve heard for many, many years that the people of Pakistan are the friendliest in the world and I’m witnessing it now.”
“I love being in Pakistan…it’s just a dream to come here. Everyone is so friendly,” he added in a separate video.
He also thanked series sponsors TikTok for arranging tickets for the entire tour for the entire series after discovering upon landing in Pakistan that tickets for the first two days of the test opening were already sold out.
“I’m here for the first time in a long time to see the boys play [against] Pakistan,” said Ben Lancaster, from Tamworth in Australia, while Timothy Smith, from Brisbane, said he “has been waiting 24 years to come to Pakistan.”
On the decision to come and support Australia in Pakistan, Hill said there were a lot of unknowns before the band unanimously decided to make the trip to see where things go from there. . “When the visas arrived, we were like ‘Yup, let’s go!'”
Hill said the group also plans to travel to Karachi and Lahore for the other two tests of the series, adding that most of their group members will return home before the One-Day International series.
When asked if he would like to visit the northern regions of the country, Hill said he knew Gilgit was one of the most beautiful places in the world, but it was too cold for him to visit the mountainous regions.
Pakistan host Australia for the first time in 24 years. The National Command and Operations Center had authorized the Pakistan Cricket Board to allow 100% spectators to attend the match, which prompted fans to buy the tickets for the first match in large numbers.
