LAHORE: Pakistan faces becoming a no-go zone for international cricket but Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ramiz Raja is defiant that the national team will not play its home series at any neutral venue in the future.

A visibly distraught Ramiz addressed a virtual news conference on Tuesday, a day after England called off their tour to Pakistan in October and four days after New Zealand had abruptly called off their tour, and said the PCB will use every forum — including the International Cricket Council — to “make the world realise how much Pakistan cricket had suffered due to such immoral decisions of other cricket boards”.

“One thing is very clear,” he said, “Pakistan will not play its home series at any neutral venue in the future.

“In the past the PCB has been giving up its rights on many occasions and it has been proved that the world of cricket has taken it as granted,” he added. “We always provided support for other cricket boards but whenever we needed their support, we didn’t get that.

“We are disappointed and from now on, we will not compromise on our interests.”

Pakistan had travelled to England last year at a time when Covid-19 infection rates in Britain were among the highest in the world for a three-match Test and T20 series that saved the ECB millions in television rights deals.

“A little bit of hand holding, a little bit of caring was needed, especially after New Zealand pulled out, and we didn’t get that from ECB,” Ramiz said.

Ramiz said the western bloc seems united, adding that he thinks Australia will join New Zealand and England in cancelling their tour of Pakistan early next year.

“I certainly feel that we are up against a western mindset, a Western bloc,” he said. “West Indies could be a little jittery and we know that the Australians will probably do what the New Zealanders and England have done. So there goes our domestic international calendar.”

He said boycotting matches against those teams at ICC events — Pakistan face New Zealand in their group game at next month’s Twenty20 World Cup — isn’t a solution.

Ramiz said the England and Wales Cricket Board’s failure to give confirmed dates to play the two Twenty20s in 2022 had left him disappointed.

But he said that disappointment should give way to Pakistan growing its own cricket.

“We need to grow our own cricket, we need to grow it commercially as it will force others to respect us,” he said. “My objective is to put Pakistan’s case before the world of cricket.

“We need to pre-empt some things and on some occasions we will have to take tough decisions. We have limited options. We need to remove the sensitivity of the other countries through interaction. The PCB wants to control the damage that’s already been done.

“It is right that our hands are tied because teams can pull out of tours on security grounds but the frustration is that New Zealand went back home without sharing the security threat with us.”

New Zealand’s abrupt abandonment of their tour came minutes before the opening fixture of the ODI series in Rawalpindi on Friday following a security alert from their government.

Ramiz informed that the PCB would take up its case before ICC’s arbitration committee and was hopeful of a favourable decision as New Zealand Cricket chief executive David White had said that his board could consider the financial losses suffered by the PCB.

Ramiz said there needs to be a realisation of how much effort Pakistan had put in recent years to restore international cricket.

Shunned by all after the deadly 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore, Pakistan have been trying to woo back top international teams. A rapid improvement in security in recent years has led to the return of international cricket, with Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, the West Indies, South Africa and Bangladesh touring in the past six years.

“But decisions made by NZC and the ECB have damaged all our efforts,” Ramiz said, adding he was not in favour of holding any exhibition matches to prove Pakistan remains safe for international cricket.

“We have proved it in the past by doing all such practices. “Pakistan has nothing to prove about our excellent security system, which is one of the best in the world.”

He did, though, state that getting top foreign players for the Pakistan Super League could be a step in that direction.

“We need to give more attractive packages to the top players to be part of the PSL,” he said.

Ramiz said that improving the standard of the game in the country is the first step towards making Pakistan the best in the world.

The matches against New Zealand and England were to provide Pakistan practice ahead of next month’s Twenty20 World Cup but now the players of the squad for that tournament will play at the National T20 Cup which begins from Thursday.

Prime Minister Imran Khan is set to meet the World Cup squad on Wednesday and Ramiz said that a good performance in the United Arab Emirates would go a long way in serving Pakistan’s cause.

“I’m urging the players to give their best at the World Cup,” he said. “That will be our answer to the world.”

Agencies add: The ECB declined to respond to Ramiz’s comments, saying it had nothing to add to Monday’s statement.

The ECB had cited “increasing concerns about travelling to the region”. It also cited player fatigue ahead of the T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.

However, the British High Commissioner to Pakistan, Christian Turner, confirmed the decision was taken by the ECB on the grounds of player welfare.

“I share the deep sadness of cricket fans that England will not tour Pakistan in October,” Turner said in a video post on Twittter. “This was a decision made by the ECB, which is independent of the British government, based on concerns for player welfare.

“The British High Commission supported the tour; did not advise against it on security grounds; and our travel advice for Pakistan has not changed.”

The ECB’s decision has been met with fierce criticism at home.

“They had a chance to repay a debt, uphold their honour and side with a cricketing nation that has undergone the kind of challenges others cannot even begin to contemplate,” former England Test captain Michael Atherton wrote in The Times. “Instead, citing a mealy-mouthed statement, they did the wrong thing.”

Journalist and broadcaster Peter Oborne also came down hard on the ECB.

“Pakistan is one of the most brilliant [and] wonderful team in the world. It [the decision] doesn’t appear to have been made on security grounds,” Oborne told Sky News on Tuesday.

“Given that the England Cricket owes so much to Pakistan who came at the height of the Covid epidemic last summer .. to bail out English Cricket. They came here again this summer, and what do they get in return from the English Cricket Board? A kick in the teeth.”

He said that while certain events had been taking place in Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover, the security advice [from the British government] was that it was okay to travel to Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, September 22nd, 2021