ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Information Minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain said on Tuesday his country was mulling legal action against the cricket boards of England and New Zealand for causing losses worth millions of rupees to the state broadcaster after the two teams pulled out of scheduled series against Pakistan.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on Monday it had “reluctantly” decided to withdraw its men’s and women’s teams from coming to Pakistan for games in October. ECB’s announcement came just days after New Zealand Cricket said it was abandoning its series with Pakistan “following a New Zealand government security alert.”
“Cancellation of New Zealand and England tours has cost PTV (Pakistan Television) millions of rupees,” Hussain said in a tweet. “[We] will consult lawyers for legal action against both boards.”
نیوزی لینڈ اور انگلینڈ کےدوروں کی منسوخی سے PTV کو کروڑوں روپے کا نقصان ہوا دونوں بورڈز کے خلاف قانونی کاروائ کیلئے وکلاء سےمشورہ کریںنگے، پاکستان کیخلاف ایک مخصوص بین القوامی لابی مصروف عمل ہے لیکن ہمیں جھکانے کی خواہش رکھنےوالے کبھی کامیاب نہیں ہوں گے یہ غلط فہمی جلد دور کر لیں
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) September 21, 2021
In a video message posted on the PCB Twitter handle late on Monday, the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ramiz Raja said he was “severely disappointed” because of England’s withdrawal, but it was very much expected as the “Western bloc” unfortunately got united in an attempt to back each other.
“This decision was expected but this is a lesson for us because we go out of our way to accommodate and pamper these sides when they visit,” he said.
The PCB chief said the tour of West Indian cricket team could also be hit by the recent developments, while Australia was already reconsidering its decision to tour Pakistan. “This England, Australia and New Zealand are all one bloc,” he said, questioning, “Who can we complain to?”
PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja reacts to @ECB_cricket decision to withdraw their sides from next month’s tour of Pakistan pic.twitter.com/hvPqHqdBcj
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) September 20, 2021
International cricket teams stopped visiting Pakistan after the 2009 attack on Sri Lankan players near Qaddafi Stadium in Lahore. However, international matches partially resumed in May 2015, when Zimbabwe toured the South Asian country, followed by the West Indies and Sri Lankan cricket teams.
Successive Pakistani governments and the PCB have tried hard to convince international players to visit the country by offering them huge sums in remuneration for local leagues, along with fool-proof security arrangements.