Pakistan on Monday (September 20) copped another major setback as England men’s and women’s teams cancelled their next month’s tour to the South Asian County.
It was only last week that New Zealand pulled out of the Pakistan tour moments before the first ODI, citing a security alert from their government.
In what could have been their first visit to Pakistan since 2005, England men’s team was slated to play two T20Is in Rawalpindi on October 13 and October 14. On the other hand, the women’s side was due to play two T20Is and three ODIs in Rawalpindi from October 13 to October 21.
"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,” ECB said in a statement.
"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 know there are increasing concerns about travelling to the region and believe that going ahead will add further pressure to a playing group who have already coped with a long period of operating in restricted Covid environments,” it added.
The abandonment of recent tours is a huge blow to the revival of international cricket in Pakistan, which has not been able to host major cricketing nations on a regular basis in the aftermath of a 2009 terror attack on the Sri Lankan team.
The turn of events has left the Pakistan cricket fraternity infuriated and they took to Twitter to express their disappointment.
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