On Monday, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced that they are withdrawing their both men’s and women’s teams from the tour of Pakistan, which was scheduled for next month.
“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,” said a statement from the ECB.
The men’s side were due to play two T20 internationals on October 13 and 14, with the women playing three one-day internationals on October 17, 19 and 21.
All the matches were set to take place in Rawalpindi.
PCB chairman Ramiz Raja expressed his disappointment over the decision of ECB in a tweet.
“Disappointed with England, pulling out of their commitment & failing a member of their Cricket fraternity when it needed it most. Survive we will inshallah. A wake up call for Pak team to become the best team in the world for teams to line up to play them without making excuses,” tweeted Raja.
Disappointed with England, pulling out of their commitment & failing a member of their Cricket fraternity when it needed it most. Survive we will inshallah. A wake up call for Pak team to become the best team in the world for teams to line up to play them without making excuses.
— Ramiz Raja (@iramizraja) September 20, 2021
Last week, the Black Caps flew out of Pakistan after abandoning their limited-overs series against the hosts over a security threat issued by the New Zealand government.
Tom Latham & Co. were supposed to play three ODI and five ODIs during their first tour to Pakistan in 18 years. They pulled out of the tour just an hour before the scheduled start of the ODI series opener in Rawalpindi.
