No ball

It was another black day for the game of cricket. Pakistani cricket suffered a huge setback at a time when it was hoped that Pakistan was well on its way to the revival of cricket. And then this unfortunate event happened.

The entire Pakistan-New Zealand series was postponed. The Blackcaps have cited security reasons for their return. Undoubtedly, Pakistan’s image will suffer a blow on account of this postponement. The question is: who to blame? Is it a failure of diplomatic relations or the Ministry of Interior? Or is it a failure of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) which failed to handle the situation at the eleventh hour?

Khushal Khan

Hayatabad

*****

The sudden cancellation of its tour by New Zealand’s cricket team has disappointed and embarrassed all cricket lovers in Pakistan, who were very keenly looking forward to the tournament. We consider this unilateral action a great set back. What prompted the New Zealand government to take this step at such a belated stage, when their team was already in our country? Despite personal assurances by our prime minister to the prime minister of New Zealand, the tour was cancelled. The tour was programmed months ago and only four months ago the government of New Zealand had sent a team of expert to assess the security situation here. The team had declared Pakistan safe for cricket.

As the things stand, the tour planned for the England cricket team in the near future is also in jeopardy. The government should find the hidden forces behind the cancellation of tour. Its timely steps are needed to tell the world that Pakistan is safe.

Cdre (r) Sajjad Ali Shah Bokhari

Islamabad