Never thought playing in Pakistan is unsafe, says Quetta Gladiators’ Ben Cutting

In the past, a number of overseas cricketers have given opinions that it is safe to play in Pakistan, the country which remained sidelined for many years after a horrific terror attack on a touring Sri Lanka side in Lahore. Cricket, however, is making a slow return to the country and this year, the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2020 is being staged entirely in Pakistan, unlike the previous years when the UAE played hosts. The tournament, following the tours of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, is going smooth so far featuring a number of international players.

Australian all-rounder Ben Cutting is also one who is playing in the PSL 2020 and he has endorsed the safety and security provided to the players in the tournament. Rather Cutting went on to say that he never felt unsafe while playing in Pakistan.

Ben Cutting even hopes to see an Australian team visiting Pakistan in next 5 years

“Personally, I feel very safe [here], and to be fair, I was never concerned about safety when I was coming here,” Cutting, who is playing for Quetta Gladiators, told Geo News. The 33-year-old even expected to see the Australian national team touring Pakistan in the next five years. A lot of non-Asian countries have started showing interest in sending their teams to the country after the successful visits of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in recent times.

Describing his experience of playing in Pakistan so far as “quite enjoyable”, Ben Cutting further said: “I was here earlier for the World XI series but it was only for four days so to spend a month here has been good.”

Cutting has played six games in the PSL 2020 so far, scoring 146 runs with one fifty and taking eight wickets. The Gladiators are currently lagging at the bottom of the points table with three wins from eight outings. They will have to win their last two games to have any chance of qualifying for the playoffs.

The Australian also spoke about the Gladiators’ young pace sensations Mohammad Hasnain and Naseem Shah saying he hates facing them in the nets, especially when they are bowling with the new ball. “Where these two can end up in the next 10 or 15 years is pretty special to think about,” Ben Cutting, who has played four ODIs and seven T20Is between 2013 and 2017, said.

Cutting also had a word of advice for the Gladiators as he said they need to plan better before their remaining games (they play Multan Sultans next on Wednesday) as the squad is “very young”.