ENG vs PAK | Disappointed with England, they failed a member of cricket fraternity, states Ramiz Raja
Ramiz Raja accuses ECB for failing Pakistan Cricket
|Pakistan Cricket Board's newly-appointed chairman Ramiz Raja has expressed his disappointment after the England and Wales Cricket Board decided to cancel their tour of Pakistan. The ECB cancelled the tour in wake of security concerns in Pakistan after New Zealand cancelled their tour of Pakistan.
England's men's team was due to tour Pakistan for the first time since 2005 and the women's team was about to visit Pakistan for the first time ever. ECB's decision came after New Zealand decided to cancel their white-ball tour of Pakistan citing security concerns. PCB chairman Ramiz Raja expressed his disappointment on his Twitter handle saying ECB has failed a member of the cricket fraternity.
"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 tweeted.
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
Meanwhile, the ECB in an official statement has said that the mental and physical well-being of the players is a top priority for them given the amount of time players have spent in the limited spaces due to COVID 19. They further added that travelling in Pakistan amid increasing security concerns will only increase pressure on the playing group.
"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.
"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."
Interestingly, the ECB's original safety assessment of Pakistan, carried out three weeks ago by ESI Risk, the same consultants used by NZC, gave the tour the go ahead.
