England’s cricket board (ECB) said on Monday that its men’s and women’s teams had withdrawn from next month’s Pakistan trip due to security concerns. They declared this decision three days after New Zealand also cancelled its visit to the nation. There were two T20 internationals scheduled for England on Oct. 13 and 14 in Rawalpindi, while the women’s team had to stay from 17th October to 21st October for an ODI series.
Why Did ECB Cancel The Pakistan Tour?
The ECB Board met over the weekend to consider the additional England Women’s and Men’s cricket matches in Pakistan. But, we can announce that the Board has regrettably chosen to remove both teams from the October tour. ECB said that because of the times they are currently living in, the emotional and physical well-being of their athletes and support personnel must be their first priority.
“We can confirm that the Board has reluctantly decided to withdraw both teams from the October trip.”
🇵🇰 #PAKvENG 🏴
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) September 20, 2021
When it comes to visiting the region, ECB said that they understand that people are becoming increasingly nervous. They also feel that continuing this tour will put even more strain on a team that has already dealt with functioning in very constrained conditions due to the pandemic. So, the board does not want to cause the players more stress.
This would not be an ideal preparation for next month’s T20 World Cup, according to the ECB. The men’s squad is now on a tour of the UK. The ECB also said that the PCB has worked diligently to host international cricket once again in their country, and they apologize for causing this massive letdown to them. But, they also reaffirm their intention to play there in 2022 as part of our major touring schedule.
What Is PCB’s Reaction On This Event?
PCB chief Ramiz Raja expressed disappointment with the ECB’s decision, but he added that the Pakistani cricketers will “survive.” Raja also tweeted that he is disappointed with the ECB as they failed to retain their promise to another member of their cricket fraternity when they needed their support the most .
According to PCB, this decision of ECB must be a wake-up call for the Pakistani squad to become the greatest team in the world for other teams to come and play with them without these silly excuses. New Zealand’s visit to Pakistan was unexpectedly called off on Friday due to a security alert, and it was a severe blow to Pakistan’s aspirations of hosting regular international cricket matches. Now, the ECB has done the same to them, so PCB is of course disappointed with the whole situation.
Closing Thoughts
We hope that PCB will soon be able to mitigate the security concerns that the foreign teams are raising as an excuse to avoid playing in their country. But, both NZC, and the ECB who called off this tour said that they are seriously concerned about the security of their players especially in this pandemic situation. So, let’s see if these teams come back in 2022 to retain their promise made to the Pakistan Cricket Board.
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