Former Pakistan player Wasim Akram has requested the entire cricketing fraternity to give them a chance to prove that the country is safe and they can host international series as well. He also supported Pakistan’s security forces and named them as powerful too.
However, his reaction came after New Zealand pulled out of their tour of Pakistan on the 11th hour before the first ODI in Rawalpindi on Friday due to a security threat. And, New Zealand left Islamabad on a charter flight on Saturday night as well.
He said: “I think the world underestimates how powerful our security forces are. Cricket is more than a sport to us and we will do everything in our power to prevent cricket being taken from us again. The world needs to give us a chance to prove that!”
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However, it was New Zealand’s first tour since 2003. Meanwhile, the toss for the first ODI was delayed after they did not leave the hotel also. Later, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) has released an official statement and confirmed that they won’t continue the series due to security concerns.
Meanwhile, NZC has informed that 24 players from the group will return to New Zealand whereas the others who are part of the T20 World Cup squad will remain in the UAE. NCZ chief executive David White, however, thanked the Pakistan Cricket Board for arranging the safe departure of the players.
He said on NZC’s official website: “We appreciate this has been a terribly difficult time for the PCB and wish to pass on our sincere thanks to chief executive Wasim Khan and his team for their professionalism and care.”
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He continued: “What I can say is that we were advised this was a specific and credible threat against the team. We had several conversations with New Zealand government officials before making the decision and it was after informing the PCB of our position that we understand a telephone discussion was conducted between the respective Prime Ministers. Unfortunately, given the advice we’d received, there was no way we could stay in the country.”
