On Monday, the England Cricket Board (ECB) announced that they have canceled their upcoming tour to Pakistan just a few days after New Zealand had pulled its team out at the last minute ahead of its series due to “security” concerns. England’s men and women teams are due to play a couple of T20Is in Rawalpindi on October 13 and 14.
The women’s team is also due to play three ODIs in Pakistan on October 17, 19, and 21. On the other hand, New Zealand is set to return to the sub-continent in November to play three Twenty20 Internationals and two Test matches in India, two months after abandoning their tour of Pakistan.
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In a statement announcing the same, ECB wrote: “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 can confirm that the Board has reluctantly decided to withdraw both teams from the October trip."
🇵🇰 #PAKvENG 🏴
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) September 20, 2021
It further added, “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.”
The cancellation of the New Zealand tour is a huge setback to the revival of international cricket in Pakistan. Although some international cricket and Pakistan Super League (PSL) matches have already been held in the country, major Test nations are yet to travel to Pakistan for full-fledged tours. West Indies are scheduled to travel to Pakistan later this year. Australia is also due to tour Pakistan early next year.
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Now, the England players who have been chosen in the T20 World Cup squad will be expected to be available for the playoffs of the second phase of the Indin Premier League (IPL) 2021. The England players’ IPL commitments were expected to end at the conclusion of the group stages on October 8. The first qualifier will be played on October 10 and the eliminator will be played on October 11.
