OTD | New Zealand withdrew from their limited-overs series in Pakistan minutes before play was due to start in 2021

Pakistan were set for a home series after a long time. International cricket hadn’t been played in Pakistan since the 2009 attacks on the Sri Lankan team. West Indies and Zimbabwe had sent their teams but the tour of New Zealand was eagerly awaited. 

The Kiwis were set to play 3 ODI matches and 5 T20I matches. All the ODI games were to be held in Rawalpindi. The T20I series was set to be hosted in Lahore as the world waited for a huge series. 

Just as everything was ready for the 1st ODI to start there was huge news. New Zealand had decided to pull out of the tour. This caused massive shock and disbelief among the cricketing community and fans. 

New Zealand pulls off from tour minutes before a game 

There was a huge controversy erupting in Rawalpindi as soon as New Zealand decided to pull out. The New Zealand Cricket Board were quick to put out a statement citing the reasons behind the move. 

The statement read “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 Black Caps will not continue with the tour”

Pakistan Cricket Board were quick to respond with their statement which read “PCB is willing to continue the scheduled matches. However, cricket lovers in Pakistan and around the world will be disappointed by this last-minute withdrawal.”

Fawad Chaudhary who was the then internal minister spoke to the media and said “A short while ago, Prime Minister Imran Khan was in contact with New Zealand’s Prime Minister and reassured her that the New Zealand team was being provided foolproof security in Pakistan, and the PCB has said that the New Zealand security team had themselves expressed satisfaction with the Pakistani security arrangements. Our intelligence agencies are among the best intelligence systems in the world and according to them the New Zealand team does not face any kind of threat.”

David White who was the New Zealand Cricket Chief though didn’t want to risk his player’s security. As the controversy blew over even more, Mr White just said to the media “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”

Also read: Former Sri Lankan batter Asanka Gurusinha was born in 1966