Former New Zealand International cricketer and commentator Simon Doull has questioned the transparency of the Kiwis’ decision to abandon the Pakistan tour at the eleventh hour.
In a YouTube show the former New Zealand right-arm medium pacer said, “I just worry about the transparency and that’s what I think Pakistan are worried about as well. We have gone through a lot of trouble to get back to this country for the last year and a half. Things have changed in the area in the last month and a half or two months, I understand that, but five teams have toured without issue. I was there, I had no issue at the start of the year when I was in Pakistan.”
Doull said that the way New Zealand took the decision without knowing and even sharing anything about the intelligence reports, he thought that it was very difficult to rationalize from Pakistan’s perspective.
Doull added, “I feel for Pakistan, I feel for the fans of Pakistan, I feel for Ramiz Raja, for Imran Khan, for all of the hierarchy in Pakistan cricket. The issue around the transparency of the decision was my only issue. Should that intelligence have been shared? Should there have been some dialogue around it? I kind of feel it should have but I don’t know how the ins and outs of how all that works.”
New Zealand was warned of a specific possible threat against its team. New Zealand Cricket elaborated on the rationale for abruptly abandoning the tour of Pakistan unilaterally while kept the specific details of the threat concealed from the PCB and the world.
New Zealand’s decision to abandon the scheduled series was swiftly followed by the England and Wales Cricket Board that decided to call off its tour to Pakistan which was scheduled for next month.
This move of abandonment from these cricket giants is a massive setback for the cricket-crazy nation which moved heaven and earth to project itself as a safe destination and won tour commitments from several leading teams.
