Mickey Arthur feels the World XI tour could spark a return of international cricket to Pakistan.

Plans are being put in place for a tour which would feature three T20 matches between Pakistan and the World XI. High-profile names, most notably Hashim Amla and Michael Clarke, have been linked with the composite side, though nothing is set in stone just yet.

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The proposed series suffered a setback, however, on Monday after a bomb blast in Lahore left 26 people dead. Despite this, Pakistan head coach Arthur sincerely hopes that international cricket returns to the troubled nation for the first time since 2015.

‘PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) is doing an unbelievable job in trying to resurrect international cricket. I just hope the World XI tour goes ahead and that will almost be the curtain raiser to, hopefully, get some international cricket back,’ Arthur told Crictracker.

Arthur also spoke of the absence of inspiration within domestic cricket, owing to first-class players not seeing their international role models play live.

‘Look, I definitely think it affects all cricket. The first-class cricketers in Pakistan are not able to see their stars playing at home and are not able to lift their standards, so it’s a vicious circle.

‘I think Pakistan was always a destination where it was hard to come and win. I was the coach of the South African team which came here in 2007. We won the Test and one-day series and that was a massive win and achievement, because not many sides had come and won in Pakistan.’

The tour is provisionally scheduled to take place from 12-19 September.