After NZ, England call off Pakistan tour over security concerns

Just days after the New Zealand cricket team abandoned its tour of Pakistan, the England cricket team, too, decided to cancel their upcoming tour of the country. The English men and women team were supposed to play two T20I matches.

In its statement, the England and Wales Cricket Board, shared with The Daily Guardian, stated that it was cancelling the tour for the mental and physical well-being of the players and the support staff. “We can confirm that the Board has reluctantly decided to withdraw both teams from the October trip.”

“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. There is the added complexity for our Men’s T20 squad. We believe that touring under these conditions will not be ideal preparation for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, where performing well remains a top priority for 2021. We understand that this decision will be a significant disappointment to the PCB, who have worked tirelessly to host the return of international cricket in their country.”

Official sources tracking the development in the region said that in view of the increase in activities of the ISIS, TTP and developments in Afghanistan, it had become extremely difficult for such kind of events to take place in Pakistan in the near future. “Due to the differences between these regional terrorist groups and Pakistan’s covert support for Taliban, a very dangerous situation has developed in the country. To gain the maximum global attention, the terror groups target foreigners. Hence after New Zealand, now England has said no to playing in Pakistan,” an official with a MNC that keeps an eye on such developments said.

According to him, no sports teams from Western countries are likely to visit Pakistan in the coming months. The financial loss suffered by the Pakistan Cricket Board due to these two developments has not been declared yet, but going by past numbers, it is likely to be in million dollars.