Fears of being a no-go zone again

After a decade spent trying to woo back cricket’s international elite, Pakistan is facing the prospect of being declared the game’s no-go area again, and the anger is palpable.

A sense of déjà vu swept the country on Friday when New Zealand abruptly pulled the plug on their first Pakistan tour in 18 years, citing a security alert.

More bad news followed on Monday, with England withdrawing both the men’s and women’s teams from October’s tour of Pakistan. The teams were each scheduled to play two Twenty20 international matches on October 13 and 14 in Rawalpindi, with the women’s side due to stay on for a threematch one-day international series from October 17-21.

It is a huge setback for the cricket-mad nation, which moved heaven and earth to project itself as a safe destination and won tour commitments from several leading teams.

“It’s been pretty gut-wrenching,” Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) CEO Wasim Khan said on Sunday. “We’ve done a huge amount of work in building our credibility back up again in world cricket. The rug has been pulled out from under our feet as quick as that.”

Cricket Australia said it was monitoring the situation and would “talk with the relevant authorities once more information becomes known” ahead of its scheduled tour in early 2022.

Cricket West Indies did not reply to an email from Reuters asking if they would reconsider their Pakistan tour this year.

“The abrupt departure of New Zealand has left many scars for us, and we just certainly hope that this is not going to have long-term consequences for us moving forward,” said Khan.

With the Taliban sweeping to power in neighbouring Afghanistan, Pakistan will have work cut out to try to convince other teams to tour the country.

Shunned by all after the 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore, Pakistan’s “home” matches in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been played without fan support and earned the PCB little in the way of revenue. Pakistan has no plans to again move home games offshore, said Khan.

Test cricket returned to the country when Sri Lanka toured in 2019, but the PCB officials know the country will be deemed safe only when the likes of England and Australia tour.

In recent times, teams touring Pakistan were accorded the kind of security usually reserved for visiting heads of state and the cricket establishment wonders what else they could have done.

“NZ just killed Pakistan cricket,” tweeted former Test bowler Shoaib Akhtar, while angry fans demanded Pakistan boycott October’s Twenty20 World Cup match against New Zealand. The PCB has ruled out that prospect but is infuriated at New Zealand’s refusal to share the exact nature of the threat that derailed the tour.

“It sets a very dangerous precedent if countries can unilaterally just abandon tours. Then it does affect relationships. Where does it leave us as a sport?” Khan asked.

The PCB official said he would be making a broader point at the International Cricket Council (ICC), seeking to end the “inequality” within the governing body. “Inequality exists, and I don’t care what people say,” Khan said. “It’s easy to walk out of countries like Pakistan without any reason, without any dialogue, without any discussion. That has to stop, because the inequality has to stop in the world of cricket.”

The players are already dreading the prospect of having to resume playing their “home” games abroad, but Khan said the PCB will not go down without a fight.

“As it stands at the moment, we have no plans to go abroad to play our cricket,” Khan said.

“It’s taken us a long time to return. We are adamant that we remain safe but of course we’ve also got to have contingency and backups.”