A member of the Pakistani Police Elite Force stands guard at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Friday (17) as New Zealand went back home suddenly cancelling their tour citing security concerns[/caption]
Pakistani cricket lovers have decided to blame India for the sudden cancelation of the limited-over cricket series and are outraged by the decision of the New Zealand cricket team.
It is unclear how India and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) are to blame but that is apparently the conclusion ‘reasonable’ people in the country have come to, reported Delhi-based news web OpIndia on Friday (17).
Fans incensed
New Zealand cancelled their tour of Pakistan just minutes before the start of the series-opening One-day International (ODI) at Rawalpindi on Friday, citing security concerns.
That had been despite assurances from Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan himself that the country had the “best intelligence system”. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) appears heartbroken by the development and the cricket fans in the country are incensed.
Indecipherable comments
One columnist Farwa Munir had stated emphatically that India was to blame, noted the said OpIndia report. Data Scientist Shoaib Taimur cited an article published in August by and Indian on the Sunday Guardian, which claimed before the tour that the New Zealand might suffer a terrorist attack in Pakistan, as definitive evidence of his claim that India is to be held responsible.
Pakistanis are also coming up with bizarre arguments to shame the New Zealand cricket team for apparently withdrawing due to Indian influence. Many such comments are indecipherable.
“You are not men”
Some have even accused the Kiwis of being U.S.A. and Indian puppets.
“There is no security issue here. It is all about politics. Shame on New Zealand Government for being puppet of India and US,” said one Mudassir Khattak of Twitter.
Others are calling for the cricketing world to boycott the Kiwis and are saying that they are “not men”.
“New Zealand Cricket (NZC) is puppet of BCCI. Cricket world must boycott NZC. Shame on NZC. Shame on New Zealand behaviour. Be confined to your rooms in New Zealand. You are not men,” said Fazal Abbas.
Revenge in World Cup next month
Other cricket fans hope that Pakistan will give a befitting reply to both New Zealand and India on the 24th and 26th of October, presumably during the forthcoming Twenty 20 International (T20I) World Cup in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
In the T20I World Cup, Pakistan are grouped with Afghanistan, India, and New Zealand in Group-2 of the Super-12 stage of the tournament.
India are to take on Pakistan in a blockbuster clash at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday, 24 October before the Pakistanis will take on the New Zealanders at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium a day later, on Tuesday, 26 October.
Sri Lanka may feature in same Group
Sri Lanka too may feature in the same Super-12 Group-2 if they become second in their Group-2 in the preceding World Cup first round, or the qualifiers. Sri Lanka are placed among Ireland, Namibia, and Netherlands in their World Cup Round-1 Group-A.
Only the top two countries from each Group in the Super-12 will enter straight into the World Cup semi-finals. Each Group in Super-12 comprises of six countries. The Group-2 featuring Pakistan will also include the first-placed country in the Qualifiers’ Group-B as well.
Leaving by chartered flight
A New Zealand second-string team was scheduled to play a three-match ODI series against Pakistan in Rawalpindi, followed by a five-match T20I series against them in Lahore.
“However, following an escalation in the New Zealand Government threat levels for Pakistan, and advice from NZC security advisors on the ground, it has been decided the Black Caps will not continue with the tour. Arrangements are now being made for the team’s departure,” read a statement posted on the NZC website on Friday.
New Zealand team were to fly out of Pakistan in a chartered flight yesterday.
A rude shock
Cricket world came in for a rude shock on Friday as NZC CEO David White suddenly announced they were calling back the team minutes before start of first ODI in Rawalpindi. The teams had been staying only 15 minutes away from the Rawalpindi Stadium.
“Which world is New Zealand living in,” asked PCB’s new Head Ramiz Raja.
Two Prime Ministers intervened
This was New Zealand’s first tour to Pakistan in 18 years. The derailment of the tour began on Friday with a 3 a.m. Pakistan time call from the NZC to the PCB about the security alert, which, 12 hours later, led to the cancellation of the series without a ball being bowled.
Media said that western security agencies had become aware of a specific threat they deemed credible at some point in the last 36 hours which was shared with a number of governments, including New Zealand’s.
Eventually that information forced a decision to call off the tour, despite a phone call between the Prime Ministers of the countries, Imran Khan and Jacinda Ardern, in which the former who was in Tajikistan on an official visit, tried to salvage the situation.
England tour of Pakistan hangs in balance
Meanwhile, the England men and women’s tours to Pakistan, scheduled for next month, are in severe doubt following NZC’s decision to abandon their tour on Friday.
Earlier on Friday, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) released a statement which read: “We are liaising with our security team who are on the ground in Pakistan to fully understand the situation. The ECB Board will then decide in the next 24-48 hours whether our planned tour should proceed.”