[ad_1]
The Pacers told Pakistani batsman Mohamed Hafiz to hold the government accountable for the abandoned tour
The New Zealand Cricket Committee said on Sunday that New Zealand was warned that its team faces a “specific and credible threat” and detailed the reasons for abruptly abandoning the Pakistan Tour when the team arrived in Dubai.
On Friday, New Zealand withdrew from the limited tour on the day of the opening ceremony in Rawalpindi on the grounds that the New Zealand government issued a security alert.
“What I can say is that we were told that this is a concrete and credible threat to the team,” New Zealand Cricket (NZC) CEO David White said in a statement.
“Everything changed on Friday. The recommendations changed, the threat level changed, so we took the only responsible course of action.
“Unfortunately, based on the advice we received, we could not stay in this country.”
New Zealand visited Pakistan for the first time in 18 years and was originally scheduled to participate in 5 Twenty20 games in Lahore.
In 2009, Islamic militants attacked the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore, killing six policemen and two civilians. After that, the top teams basically avoided Pakistan.
NZC said in a statement that the players left Islamabad on a chartered flight on Saturday and arrived in Dubai, where the 34-person contingent is undergoing 24-hour self-isolation.
Twenty-four of them will return home next week, while the rest will join New Zealand’s 2020 World Cup squad to participate in the exhibition match scheduled for October 17th in the United Arab Emirates and Oman.
Although the general content of the threat was immediately shared with PCB, White said that he could not and would not disclose the specific details.
The Pakistan Cricket Committee (PCB) was affected by the withdrawal and knew nothing about the exact nature of the threat. It has been mailed to NZC to express its dissatisfaction and will deal with the matter with the International Cricket Council.
PCB CEO Wasim Khan said at a virtual press conference on Sunday: “When countries unilaterally make decisions that may have long-term effects on countries, this creates a very, very dangerous precedent.”
Khan ruled out the possibility of Pakistan’s refusal to play against New Zealand in this year’s 2020 World Cup.
“We had a good relationship with New Zealand in the past. Is it creating potential tensions now? I say absolutely.
“I think the way of doing this is disrespectful in many ways,” Khan added.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said that NZC “made the right decision” and withdrew from the tour.
She told reporters on Sunday: “You will understand why we are unable to provide further information about the nature of the intelligence. You can only say that this is a direct threat and a credible threat.”
White also published a report on the news website www.stuff.co.nz, stating that a member of the team received death threats before starting his trip to Pakistan. He said the email threat was “forwarded to our security provider” and “proved to be a scam and untrustworthy.”
[ad_2]
Source link