Ramiz Raja, the
head of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), expressed his disappointment over
England Cricket Board’s decision to call off the men’s and women’s cricket tour
to Pakistan. “Disappointed with England, pulling out of their commitment &
failing a member of their Cricket fraternity when it needed it the most.
Survive we will inshallah,” the PCB chairman wrote on Twitter.

Ramiz Raja further
said that this should serve as a wake-up call to the Pakistan cricket team to
become world leaders for other teams to line up to play against them. “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 excuse.”

Also Read | Pakistan Cricket Board fumes as England call off October tour

On Monday, the
English Cricket Board (ECB) announced that it has ‘reluctantly’ decided to withdraw
both men’s and women’s cricket teams from the tour to Pakistan. “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,” an ECB statement read. 

Also Read | Pressure created on Pakistan cricket after New Zealand pull out: Ramiz Raja

ECB said that it took
the decision due to “increasing concerns” about travelling to Pakistan. With
this, England became the second country to withdraw from a cricket tour in
Pakistan within this week. Before England, New Zealand Cricket abandoned it’s
men’s team’s tour of Pakistan citing a government alert that warned of a
potential attack outside the Rawalpindi Stadium.

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Following New
Zealand Cricket’s decision, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed
said that he had no information about the security threat claimed by New
Zealand and that New Zealand had ignored Pakistan’s guarantees that its players
would be safe.

International
cricket returned to Pakistan after 10 years in 2019. In 2009, a terrorist
attack targeting the Sri Lankan cricket team had led to the death of seven
people and several Sri Lankan cricketers getting injured.