Sri Lanka and Bangladesh refuse to play in Pakistan after New Zealand’s pullout

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was given a big blow by New Zealand when the visitors decided to abandoned the tour due to security reasons. In order to compensate for the cancelled matches, Pakistan reached out to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka for tours, but the Bangladesh and Sri Lanka cricket boards refused to play in the country.

Wasim Khan, the PCB chief executive, stated that the PCB and BCB were keen to play matches, but the availability of less time before the T20 World Cup resulted in refusal.

“Our Chairman spoke to them and explored the possibility of a short tours and they were very receptive but they pointed out it was very difficult for them to change their already confirmed plans and also some of their players were dispersed,” Khan was quoted as saying in Hindustan Times.

“They showed a strong willingness but because of the short time frame it was not possible for them to put in place a tour as they had prior plans for the World Cup,” he stated.

He also spoke about Kiwis pull out. “We have a real problem in world cricket if perceived threats can’t be discussed at the Government to Government or Intelligence level and teams can abandon a tour unilaterally,” Khan said.