Zoom News : Sep 20, 2021, 11:28 PM
Pakistan cricket has suffered another major setback. The England Cricket Board (ECB) has canceled the tour of Pakistan due to security reasons. Both the men's and women's teams of England were to play the series in Pakistan in October. Three days ago, the New Zealand team canceled the tour just before the first match after receiving a security alert and returned. New Zealand and England had contracted the same security team to take stock of the security in Pakistan. T20 matches were to be held on 13 and 14 October
Both the men's and women's teams of England were scheduled to play two T20 matches against the men's and women's teams of Pakistan on October 13 and 14. All these matches were to be held in Rawalpindi. After this the men's team of England was to return, but the women's team was going to stop to play a series of 3 ODIs from 17 to 21 October.
The ECB has said in its message - We were going to send our men's and women's teams to Pakistan, but in view of the current situation, we have to cancel the tour even if we do not want to. The safety of its players and their mental and physical health are paramount for the ECB. In the current environment, they cannot be sent to a part of the world where they are under additional pressure. Our players have already gone through a lot of stress due to Corona.
TTP attack was suspected
There was an atmosphere of celebration in Pakistan when the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, but Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, which has close ties to the Afghan Taliban, has intensified attacks in Pakistan. It is believed that this organization was also trying to attack the New Zealand team. It is also being said that this security alert was given to New Zealand by MI6, the intelligence agency of England. When the tour of New Zealand was canceled, it was feared that the England team could also refuse to play in Pakistan.
Both the men's and women's teams of England were scheduled to play two T20 matches against the men's and women's teams of Pakistan on October 13 and 14. All these matches were to be held in Rawalpindi. After this the men's team of England was to return, but the women's team was going to stop to play a series of 3 ODIs from 17 to 21 October.
Player safety is the most importantDisappointed 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
The ECB has said in its message - We were going to send our men's and women's teams to Pakistan, but in view of the current situation, we have to cancel the tour even if we do not want to. The safety of its players and their mental and physical health are paramount for the ECB. In the current environment, they cannot be sent to a part of the world where they are under additional pressure. Our players have already gone through a lot of stress due to Corona.
TTP attack was suspected
There was an atmosphere of celebration in Pakistan when the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, but Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, which has close ties to the Afghan Taliban, has intensified attacks in Pakistan. It is believed that this organization was also trying to attack the New Zealand team. It is also being said that this security alert was given to New Zealand by MI6, the intelligence agency of England. When the tour of New Zealand was canceled, it was feared that the England team could also refuse to play in Pakistan.