Former Australia batsman Dean Jones has spoken about the extra security which are providing the players who are visiting Pakistan. He thinks this has taken the fun out of touring the country. Pakistan are desperately trying to bring back international cricket on their country after the horrible attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in 2009. Since then, most of the teams refused to tour there. However, Zimbabwe toured Pakistan in 2015 before West Indies and Sri Lanka also followed them.

However, Dean Jones said that players are no longer given the liberty to go beyond their heavily-guarded hotel rooms which left the international tours lost their charm as well.

“Today, players are whisked off their international flight and placed in bullet and bomb-proof buses with army security that’s mind-boggling,” Dean Jones wrote in his column for The Sydney Morning Herald.

“Players are cooped up in their rooms like prison cells, the security just won’t let you out. As a head coach in the Pakistan Super League, I know that when players have too much time to themselves, they have a tendency to think too much. They begin dwelling on how they got out or personal issues. Their minds can become their enemies,” he further added.

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“During the recent PSL, many players were paid extra appearance money to play in Pakistan. I was furious over this decision; it meant that these players’ lives were more important than ours,” he said. “Some players said they would not go to Pakistan due to the security and potential terrorist threats yet accepted extra money to tour when it was offered. I am confused about their intentions and priorities. Is money now more important than their safety?”