England cancel their tours to Pakistan following New Zealand’s withdrawal

England’s scheduled tour of Pakistan for two T20Is in mid-October has been cancelled, the ECB have announced.

England’s men and women were scheduled to play T20I double-headers in Rawalpindi on October 13 and 14, with the women’s team staying on for a three-match ODI series afterwards.

But following New Zealand’s last-minute withdrawal from their tour of the country due to a security threat, the series has been called off. The ECB use the same security consultants – ESI Security – as NZC and despite Wasim Khan, the PCB’s chief executive, insisting on Sunday that he expected the fixtures to go ahead as scheduled, they were immediately in doubt after New Zealand flew home.

ECB’s Statement

The ECB released a statement on Monday afternoon confirming that its board had “reluctantly decided to withdraw both teams from the October trip”, citing “increasing concerns about travelling to the region” and the prospect of adding “further pressure to a playing group who have already coped with a long period of operating in restricted Covid environments”.

“The ECB has a longstanding commitment to tour Pakistan as part of the Men’s Future Tours Programme in 2022,” the statement said. “Earlier this year, we agreed to play two additional T20 World Cup warm-up games in Pakistan in October, adding a short women’s tour with double headers alongside the men’s games.

“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.

“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. Their support of English and Welsh cricket over the last two summers has been a huge demonstration of friendship. We are sincerely sorry for the impact this will have on cricket in Pakistan and emphasise an ongoing commitment to our main touring plans there for 2022.”

PCB Chairman Upset Over England’s Withdrawal

Ramiz Raja tweeted on this withdrawal of ECB 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.”