British High Commission dismisses claims of their involvement in cancellation of New Zealand's Pakistan tour

New Zealand on Friday (17 September) called off their limited-overs series against Pakistan, which was set to begin in Rawalpindi. The Blackcaps found something fishy with regards to security arrangements and decided it was not appropriate to proceed with their white-ball assignment. This decision of New Zealand Cricket (NZC) has not gone quite well with a lot of cricketing experts.

Former Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi has come hard down at the visitors and expressed his disappointment in stating that New Zealand believed in the hoax, even when all assurances were given with regards to security. But if certain reports are to be believed, then some are sensing the involvement of English people in New Zealand cancelling the tour.

But British High Commissioner to Pakistan, Christian Turner has dismissed these speculations regarding their involvement in the matter. “Speculation that British High Commission was involved in PakvsNZ tour being called off are untrue,” said Christian Turner according to Cricwick.

“This was a decision for the New Zealand authorities & taken independently. I recognize that this is a sad day for cricket fans in & around who were looking forward to the series,” he added.

New Zealand Cricket (NZC) released a press release stating their wish to not continue the white-ball series against Pakistan. The series was supposed to be played from September 17 to October 3. Incidentally, New Zealand had also confirmed how content they were with the security arrangements, albeit with a bit of tension. But at the end of the day, they felt unsafe due to security deployed in Rawalpindi and made this tough decision to return home.

“I understand this will be a blow for the PCB, who have been wonderful hosts, but player safety is paramount and we believe this is the only responsible option,” read a statement from NZC chief executive.

Ramiz Raja slams the decision of New Zealand to call off the tour

Meanwhile, the newly appointed Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ramiz Raja also slammed New Zealand’s decision off postponing the series at the last minute and called the turn of events extremely frustrating.

“Crazy day it has been! Feel so sorry for the fans and our players. Walking out of the tour by taking a unilateral approach on a security threat is very frustrating. Especially when it’s not shared!! Which world is NZ living in??NZ will hear us at ICC,” he wrote on his Twitter handle.