ICC Champions Trophy starts in Pakistan, its first global cricket ...

The last time Pakistan hosted an international cricket tournament, Meher Mohammad Khalil became a hero.

But it wasn't for scoring centuries or leading his country to victory.

It was for saving the lives of the opposing Sri Lankan team.

Mr Khalil, a bus driver, was chauffeuring the Sri Lankans in 2009 from their Lahore hotel to Gaddafi Stadium when armed militants opened fire on their bus.

"They were firing on us from all sides," Mr Khalil recalled.

Mr Khalil successfully navigated the team to the stadium.

Six were wounded, but none were fatally injured.

Six Pakistani policemen and two civilians were killed in the attack.

The incident immediately marred Pakistan's reputation as an international cricket host.

"Pakistan's happiness vanished," Mr Khalil said.

It has been nearly 30 years since it hosted a global event, a period that may well have been shorter had the 2009 attack never occurred.

Now, for the first time since the attack, the country is getting to put its renowned hospitality back on display for a suite of international teams and fans.

On Wednesday it begins hosting the 2025 International Cricket Council's (ICC) Champions Trophy, an event often thought of as a mini World Cup.

It's the first ICC event to be played in the country since the 1996 World Cup.

Australia, New Zealand, England, South Africa, Afghanistan and Bangladesh have all sent teams to play matches in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi.

With such high stakes, security scrutiny and the fact their team are the reigning champions looming over their heads, Pakistanis are feeling the pressure to pull off a successful, safe event, which may bury the 2009 reputation once and for all.

And they're confident they can do it.

Presidential-level security

Pakistan Cricket Board's chief operating officer Sumair Ahmad Syed told the ABC the teams will be given a level of security usually reserved for world leaders.

"We have provided them with bulletproof [buses], with proper presidential-level security," Mr Syed said.

"We have placed security liaison officers with the teams. With all these logistics, it shall be a very safe and secure environment."

Presidential-level security was also provided to the Australian team in 2022 when it visited Pakistan for the first time in 23 years.

Mr Syed said the success of that trip, and a tri-nations series with New Zealand and South Africa that wrapped up last week, have paved the way for the Champions Trophy to run without a hitch.

"We have practised a lot in providing a secure environment."

Director Inspector General of Police Operations for Lahore Muhammad Faisal Kamran said 10,000 security personnel had been deployed in that city alone, and authorities started a "sweep" of the stadium area about three weeks ago.

Roads are fully emptied whenever a team needs to move around the city, and Mr Faisal himself moves with them.

"I accompany all the teams during all their movements, whether it's for the practice session or the actual match, or any kind of personal engagement," he said.

Spectators will be checked at least four times between entering Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, which was completely demolished and then rebuilt at breakneck speed to increase capacity by about 10,000 seats in three months.

Missing team mars tournament

On the streets of Lahore, everyone told the ABC there was one match they would be glued to — India versus Pakistan.

The two countries are arch-rivals both on and off the pitch.

Former cricket player and left-arm fast bowler Wahab Riaz, who was part of the victorious 2017 Pakistan squad, said matches between the two are "a great game of cricket".

"Everybody wants to win that game, wants to see that game," he said.

"Everybody has been praying in their own way of religion."

University student Ahmed, 17, was out buying a Pakistan team shirt in time for the home side's opening match against New Zealand on Wednesday.

"Everyone is talking about it. They're excited for the match. They're excited for the team," he said.

"I've been looking for some tickets. Some of [my friends] have tickets. It [makes me feel] kind of jealous."

Even with all the enthusiasm, there is one dampener.

India refused to play this tournament in Pakistan, citing security concerns.

All of its matches will be played in Dubai.

If India makes the final, the decider will be played there too.

That means a final between the defending champions Pakistan and India — a real possibility, and a dream outcome for many cricket fans — would be taken from the host nation.

Mr Riaz said India's decision was "very disappointing".

"As Pakistanis, we have travelled so much to India and played in India so much," he said.

"It was time that they should have come here. They would have seen how much people love them.

"If India was coming here, that would've been the icing on the cake."

From darkness, the 'lights will again sparkle'

For both fans and players — professional and aspiring — the last 16 years have done damage.

Pakistan women's team player Kaynat Hafeez said there's a whole generation of cricketers who have missed the opportunity to absorb some wisdom from their idols because the gap between international tournaments has been so long.

"It has affected a lot because you see and you learn," she said.

"You watch and you learn, [but] watching on the TV and watching live, it's a big difference.

"The pace you see on television is a lot less than what it actually is."

Mr Riaz said he felt for players who came up during that period and never had a chance to see their heroes in action on home soil.

"I had always seen my superstars, my heroes, like Wasim Akram — in the grounds, and I always used to follow them," he said.

"Wherever the cricket was being played in Pakistan, you'd go and watch them and that's how you'd get inspired from all these cricketers."

He also said the gap in hosting international cricket killed a personal dream.

"I felt that in my whole career, I never had a chance to play against or in front of my home crowd," he said.

Mr Khalil said the impact of that day will never be undone.

"The loss that happened in the last 16 years cannot be recovered," he told the ABC.

Now, he said an international cricket tournament once again returning to the country would buoy Pakistanis in a way that was difficult to express in words.

"I am so happy that tears are coming out because of happiness.