The New Zealand vs Pakistan series in Pakistan was abandoned just minutes before the match in Rawalpindi and it once again brings back the dark times for cricket in the country.
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The dark times are back in Pakistan cricket. 19 years ago, when the first terrorist incident occurred and 12 years since a cricket team was targeted, the system of abandoning tours to Pakistan has now begun. All the gains that they tried to make in the last six years, with tours from Zimbabwe, West Indies, Sri Lanka, ICC World XI, South Africa as well as the Pakistan Super League are potentially undone. 19 years ago, the Taliban rule in neighboring Afghanistan and the American offensive there made things in Pakistan incredibly risky. Now, with the Taliban back, the situation is volatile even in Pakistan.
The main reason for the abandonment of the latest three ODIs and five T20Is between Pakistan and New Zealand was a security threat. “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 Blackcaps will not continue with the tour. Arrangements are now being made for the team’s departure,” the New Zealand cricket press statement read.
Prime Minister Imran Khan and New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern had spoken with each other about the security arrangements in the country. The PCB had assured them that the security was high. But, knowing the past instances when New Zealand has been caught in the crossfires of terrorism in cricket, it made adequate sense.
This is not the first time that New Zealand has abandoned a tour to Pakistan. In 2002, just before the start of the Karachi Test, a suicide bomb attack outside the Pearl Continental Hotel took place. The target of the terrorist blast was not the cricket teams, but French naval technicians working on a submarine project in Karachi. 10 French nationals were killed. This forced the immediate abandonment of the tour.
In 2004, New Zealand sent a weakened team to Pakistan but the security situation deteriorated. When the Sri Lanka team was targeted in 2009, teams stopped going to Pakistan until 2015.
The heightened security situation is nothing new for New Zealand. Besides the Karachi suicide bombing, New Zealand aborted two tours to Sri Lanka in 1987 and 1992. At that time, the civil war with the LTTE had reached its peak. In 1987, Sri Lanka and New Zealand had finished playing a day of the Test match at the Colombo Cricket Club. After the end of the day’s play, they had to take a slight detour to drop one New Zealand player to the physio.
That detour proved to be life-saving. On the same route that they were taking, there was a terror attack. A car bomb exploded at the Pettah Bus Junction at the heart of Colombo, killing 100s of people. Had the New Zealand team taken that route on that day, they would also have been killed.
When New Zealand returned in 1992, they were the victim of another terrorist attack. On the eve of the first Test, a suicide bomber crashed his motorcycle into a car outside their team hotel. The victims were a Sri Lankan vice admiral and two of his aides. The force of the blast was so severe that the doors of some of the rooms were blown open. The tour went ahead but the decision for New Zealand players to stay back made them unhappy.
With the Taliban back in Afghanistan, the volatility will spill into Pakistan. The policy of the New Zealand cricketers in this case follows the English saying, “Once bitten, twice shy.” In this case, New Zealand has been on the receiving end of three terror attacks in the sub-continent.
One has to feel sorry for Pakistan and the fans. The crowds had come out in big numbers when Zimbabwe, ICC World XI, West Indies and South Africa series. Although the venues were very few, with only Rawalpindi, Lahore and Karachi hosting games, there seemed to be a revival. Test cricket, ODI, and T20Is were all back in the country. But, now this latest abandonment threatens to drag Pakistan cricket back into the mire.
With this latest abandonment, England’s tour to Pakistan might also be in doubt. Australia has not toured the country for 23 years. India will not tour Pakistan or play any bilateral cricket series with them due to political tensions. The options for Pakistan are now limited. Playing matches at a neutral venue is no longer affordable. That is what the PCB had said when there was a glimpse of cricket returning back to the country.
The abandonment by New Zealand will sting Pakistan. But, it is better to be safe than sorry. In addition to the coronavirus, the terrorism specter will now make things complicated for Pakistan.
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