- Thursday, April 25, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
PAKISTAN cricket suffered another jolt just days after New Zealand called off their limited-over series on their soil as England too have cancelled the dual tours of their men’s and women’s cricket teams of Pakistan. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) deliberated on the matter over the weekend and finally scrapped what would have been their first tour of the Asian country since 2005.
In a statement, the ECB said, “The ECB Board convened this weekend to discuss these extra England Women’s and Men’s games in Pakistan and we can confirm that the Board has reluctantly decided to withdraw both teams from the October trip.
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“The mental and physical well-being of our players and support staff remains our highest priority and this is even more critical given the times we are currently living in. We know there are increasing concerns about travelling to the region and believe that going ahead will add further pressure to a playing group who have already coped with a long period of operating in restricted Covid environments.”
Last Friday (17), New Zealand called off their tour of Pakistan minutes before the first one-day international (ODI) in Peshawar and even intervention by prime minister Imran Khan could not save the tour. The New Zealand government raised an alarm and the players were told to stay in their hotel rooms and prepare for a home-bound flight. Had the tour gone ahead, it would have been the first time that New Zealand would have played in Pakistan since 2003.
The Pakistan Cricket Board and current and former players of the country slammed the Black Caps over their sudden withdrawal.
The England men’s team was scheduled to play two back-to-back T20 international matches in Pakistan on October 13 and 14 as part of their preparations for the World Cup starting the same month in the UAE and Oman. The women’s side, on the other hand, was set to play two T20s and three ODIs.
The tours were arranged as a sign of gratitude towards the Pakistan Cricket Board, along with the West Indies, Ireland and Australia, when their men’s Test side agreed to play in the UK last summer, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, helping the English board to avert a whopping loss of £300 million, The Guardian reported.
PCB chief Ramiz Raja, who slammed New Zealand over the decision to pull out and threatened to see them at the International Cricket Council, reacted over England’s decision in a tweet, saying, “Disappointed with England, pulling out of their commitment & failing a member of their Cricket fraternity when it needed it most. Survive we will inshallah. A wake up call for Pak team to become the best team in the world for teams to line up to play them without making excuses.”
Disappointed with England, pulling out of their commitment & failing a member of their Cricket fraternity when it needed it most. Survive we will inshallah. A wake up call for Pak team to become the best team in the world for teams to line up to play them without making excuses.
— Ramiz Raja (@iramizraja) September 20, 2021
