Pakistan withdraws from Asia Cup for blind cricketers to be held in India citing security concerns

The Pakistan blind cricket team have pulled out from the Asia Cup to be held in India in 2016

Pakistan’s blind cricket team have officially withdrawn from the Asia Cup tournament for the Blind scheduled to be held next year in India, reports NDTV Sports. Security concerns were cited as the reason behind the decision.

The development followed the untoward incident of Indian political party Shiv Sena storming into the headquarters of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) at Mumbai a few days back, to protest against a proposed meeting between BCCI president Shashank Manohar and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Shahryar Khan.

The heads of the two respective board were set to discuss the future of the bilateral series between India and Pakistan scheduled to be held in the UAE in December this year, but the talks were cancelled in the aftermath of the incident virtually eliminating any chances of the series to be held as planned.

Shahryar Khan had dismissed suggestions by ICC President and former Pakistan cricketer Zaheer Abbas that Pakistani cricketers could boycott the 2016 World T20 to be held in India next year, but the incident has had its ramifications elsewhere with the Pakistani blind cricket team choosing to shelve their plans for the Asia Cup.

Syed Sultan Shah, chairman of the Pakistan Blind Cricket Council and president of the World Blind Cricket Council said that he was forced to take the decision in the wake of the incidents witnessed at Mumbai on Monday and added that he did not want to take any chances when it came to the security of players.

"The decision to pull out of the January games has been taken in the wake of the current sentiment pertaining to Pakistan and Pakistanis across the border. The management needs to ensure the safety and security of the team. I have informed the Cricket Association for Blind in India about our decision,” he said.

"After what has happened in India in the last few days, the way the Pakistan Cricket Board delegation has been treated, we have decided they are genuine threats to the security of our players and officials if the Asia Cup is held in India," Shah told PTI, as reported by ESPNCricinfo.

The current relationship between the two countries is politically at its worst in recent times. Cricket too has suffered as a result. Former Pakistani cricketers Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar, who were doing commentary duties for a TV channel for the ongoing ODI series between India and South Africa, were forced to return to their homeland due to the security issue.

ICC had also taken the call to replace Pakistani umpire Aleem Dar with Indian umpire, S Ravi for the remaining two ODIs to be played at Chennai nd Mumbai.