Former Pakistan captain, Shahid Afridi, has advised top international teams to not be influenced by India when making their decision to tour Pakistan. Afridi said that educated cricket nations should not involve themselves in the Pakistan-India feud and should make their decisions without involving politics and money.
The legendary all-rounder said that New Zealand’s unilateral decision to back out of their tour of Pakistan has set a dangerous precedent and has seriously damaged Pakistan’s reputation for further tours.
Afridi said that New Zealand had been provided fool-proof security, and if there was a threat to the team, then Pakistan’s security agencies would have alerted them beforehand and would have canceled their tour themselves because Pakistan cannot afford another mishap regarding security negligence.
Afridi said that Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) should take strong action against New Zealand Cricket (NZC) as what they have done is unforgivable and should not be tolerated.
“New Zealand cricketers are loved in Pakistan, and for them to do something like this is unforgivable. If there was any potential threat, they should have shared with the PCB and waited for Pakistan’s security forces to assess the situation,” Afridi stated.
The 44-year old urged the International Cricket Council (ICC) to take note of such incidents as it has put the game into disrepute. He said that teams have been canceling their tours without any strong reason and have no fear of repercussions, which has set a dangerous precedent and will have an adverse impact on the game in the long run.
