Will Pakistan Boycott New Zealand In T20 World Cup 2021? PCB Chief Executive Has His Say

Pakistan chief executive Wasim Khan gave his opinion on whether the national team will boycott the New Zealand team at the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2021 in the aftermath of the BlackCaps calling off their limited-overs tour of Pakistan hours before the toss of the first ODI in Rawalpindi.

The New Zealand-led by Tom Latham had visited Pakistan for the first time in 18 years. The last time the Kiwis came to Pakistan was in 2003 and their tour was called off after a bomb blast outside their team hotel in Karachi. The New Zealand team this time was supposed to play 3 ODIs in Rawalpindi and five T20I matches in Lahore.

Pakistan had welcomed international cricket back in the country after more than a decade after 2009 when the Sri Lankan team bus was attacked by terrorists resulting in multiple cricketers getting injured and international cricket teams refusing to tour Pakistan.

However, since then Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and other teams have visited Pakistan and when New Zealand also decided to tour Pakistan, it was a huge sign that other teams were willing to come to Pakistan.

Right Now There Is No Issue Of Us Not Playing NZ- PCB CEO Wasim Khan

However, now with New Zealand pulling out, a question mark has been put on upcoming England and Australia tours as well. There were calls for a boycott of the New Zealand team as well, especially in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2021.

However, PCB CEO Wasim Khan said that the board has no such ideas or actions on the card as of now during a press conference on Sunday. Pakistan and New Zealand are due to meet in the Twenty20 World Cup in Sharjah on October 26.

He said, “Right now there is no issue of us not playing NZ. We have a duty to the fans and we have to fulfill that. I think we just need to be very careful in terms of the perspective. We don’t want to take that route showing any sort of political gesturing and posturing and any sort of visible protest.”

“I don’t think the answer to that is not taking part or playing against New Zealand in the World Cup. We have a duty to the fans, we have a duty still to get out there and play. Our duty is to go out and win that match. This is an ICC World Cup and our job is to go out and do that and we’ll continue to have dialogue and discussion offline, myself and the chairman will do that with the competent authorities,” he added.

Also Read: If Teams Could Take A Tour Of Bangladesh In The Wake Of A Serious Bomb Blast, We Also Expect A Positive Response: PCB CEO Wasim Khan