Wellington: New Zealand Cricket (NZC) has turned down the offer presented by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to visit Pakistan for two Twenty20 Internationals.
Confirming the report, NZC chairman Greg Barclay said that keeping in mind factors like government advisory and independent security consultant, a decision was taken to turn down the invitation.
“We were open-minded and we went through all the information. It was an extensive due diligence exercise: Government advisory, Mfat, ICC, independent security consultants, and those were peer-reviewed back here as well,” stuff.co.nz quoted Barclay, as saying.
“We just came to the decision that given the current circumstances, it just wasn’t right for us to accept the invitation to play in Pakistan,” he added.
PCB had invited NZC to send the team to Pakistan for two T20 internationals, before continuing their tour in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which includes three T20s, three ODIs, and three tests.
New Zealand toured Pakistan in 2003, a year after a fatal bomb blast took place outside the team hotel in Karachi, due to which the team had to cut short their stay in the country.
Pakistan play most of their home games in UAE, following the deadly terror attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in 2009.
However, in April, the West Indian squad visited Pakistan for a three-match T20 international series.
ANI