2017 Independence Cup (cricket)
The 2017 Independence Cup was a cricket tournament that took place in Lahore, Pakistan. It was contested between a World XI team and Pakistan across three Twenty20 International (T20I) matches. Pakistan won the series 2–1. South Africa's Faf du Plessis captained the World XI team, with Sarfaraz Ahmed leading Pakistan. Ten of the players in the Pakistan squad had not previously played in an international match at home. The World XI side arrived in Lahore a day before the first fixture under high security. The cup was named in commemoration of Pakistan's 70th year of independence. The International Cricket Council (ICC) appointed Richie Richardson as the match referee for the fixtures, the first time the ICC has sent an official to oversee cricket matches in Pakistan since 2009. Aleem Dar, Ahsan Raza, Ahmed Shahab and Shozab Raza were appointed as the on-field umpires. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) introduced the #CricketKiHalalala hashtag for the series. The PCB spent an estimated $3 million to host the three matches, with players on the World XI team being paid approximately $100,000 each. The ICC contributed more than $1 million towards security costs. While attendance for the first two matches were as high as