“Cricket is more than a sport to us” - Wasim Akram opens up over New Zealand quitting Pakistan tour

Pakistan legend Wasim Akram has urged the cricketing fraternity to give them a chance to prove that playing cricket in the country is safe. He backed Pakistan’s security forces, describing them as powerful.

Akram’s reaction came after New Zealand pulled out of their tour of Pakistan just hours before the start of the first ODI in Rawalpindi on Friday, citing a security threat. New Zealand left Islamabad on a charter flight on Saturday night.

Expressing his disappointment, Akram took to Twitter to write that Pakistan will do everything to ensure that cricket can be played in a safe environment in the country. The Pakistan great’s tweet read:

“I think the world underestimates how powerful our security forces are. Cricket is more than a sport to us and we will do everything in our power to prevent cricket being taken from us again. The world needs to give us a chance to prove that!”

New Zealand arrived in Pakistan for their first tour since 2003, after receiving clearance from their security agency. However, the toss for the first ODI was delayed after both teams did not leave the hotel for the ground. Later, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) released an official statement and confirmed that they were abandoning the tour due to security concerns.

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NZC chief thanks Pakistan board for helping organise safe departure of New Zealand

The New Zealand contingent arrived in Dubai after leaving Islamabad on a charter flight on Saturday. The contingent, including 34 players and support staff, are at a Dubai hotel and are undergoing 24 hours of self-isolation.

NZC informed that 24 from the group will return to New Zealand over the next week while the others will remain in the UAE and join the T20 World Cup squad, ahead of the event that begins on October 17.

NCZ chief executive David White thanked the Pakistan Cricket Board for helping organize the safe departure of the New Zealand team. He said on NZC’s official website:

“We appreciate this has been a terribly difficult time for the PCB and wish to pass on our sincere thanks to chief executive Wasim Khan and his team for their professionalism and care.”

White added that New Zealand were looking forward to the Pakistan series but were left with no option but to quit the tour after receiving advice from the New Zealand government of a specific, credible threat. He added that the advice was supported by NZC’s security consultants – who were on the ground in Pakistan, as well as by other independent sources.

White explained about New Zealand’s decision to quit the Pakistan tour:

“What I can say is that we were advised this was a specific and credible threat against the team. We had several conversations with New Zealand government officials before making the decision and it was after informing the PCB of our position that we understand a telephone discussion was conducted between the respective Prime Ministers. Unfortunately, given the advice we’d received, there was no way we could stay in the country.”

Back in 2002, New Zealand had cut short their Test series in Pakistan and headed back home after a bomb blast outside their hotel in Karachi.