Web Desk
New Zealand have called off their limited-overs tour of Pakistan unilaterally on the pretext of security concerns, minutes before the start of first ODI in Rawalpindi on Friday afternoon.
The tour, comprising three ODIs and five T20Is, was scheduled to to start today, but neither team left their hotel on the morning of the game, and spectators were not allowed to enter the stadium.
After a period of hours long uncertainty, a statement of New Zealand Cricket Board (NZC) was issued, saying, “Following an escalation in the New Zealand Government threat levels for Pakistan, and advice from NZC security advisors on the ground, it has been decided the Blackcaps will not continue with the tour.”
“I understand this will be a blow for the PCB, who have been wonderful hosts, but player safety is paramount and we believe this is the only responsible option,” NZC chief executive David White said in the statement.
Jacinda Ardern, the New Zealand prime minister who spoke to Prime Minister Imran Khan, insisted that player safety had to be prioritised. “When I spoke with the prime minister of Pakistan, I conveyed our thanks for taking care of the New Zealand cricket team,” she was quoted as saying by New Zealand’s media. “I know how disappointing it will be for everyone that the game hasn’t gone ahead, but we totally support the decision that’s been made. Player safety has to be paramount.”
PCB chairman Ramiz Raja was especially critical of the New Zealand Cricket decision, saying, “Walking out of the tour by taking a unilateral approach on a security threat is very frustrating. Especially when it is not shared! Which world is NZ living in? NZ will hear us at ICC.”
The PCB responded with a statement indicating its unhappiness at what it called a “unilateral” decision.
“Earlier today, the New Zealand cricket board informed us that they had been alerted to some security alert and have unilaterally decided to postpone the series,” the statement said. “PCB and Govt of Pakistan made foolproof security arrangements for all visiting teams. We have assured the New Zealand cricket board of the same. The Prime Minister spoke personally to the Prime Minister of New Zealand and informed her that we have one of the best intelligence systems in the world and that no security threat of any kind exists for the visiting team.
“The security officials with the NZ team have been satisfied with security arrangements made by the Govt of Pakistan throughout their stay here.”
On the subject of “foolproof security”, there was a significantly heavier security cover in the approach to the Rawalpindi stadium than has perhaps been in evidence since cricket trickled back into the country. Roadblocks had been set up miles from the stadium several hours ahead of time, and security searches were extensive. The New Zealand squad had landed in Islamabad on September 11 and had since held three training sessions in the run-up to the first ODI. Both the teams were staying in a hotel that, with all security protocols in place, was about a 15-minute drive away from the ground.
This was New Zealand’s first tour to Pakistan in 18 years, after 2003. That series of ODIs was, in fact, the resumption of the 2002 tour, which had to be cancelled after an explosion near the hotel the New Zealanders were staying at in Karachi.
