LONDON: Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ramiz Raja said on Tuesday he felt “used and then binned” after England canceled a white-ball tour for their men’s and women’s teams next month.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) cited “increasing concerns about traveling to the region” just days after New Zealand also pulled out of a tour to Pakistan over security concerns.
However, the British High Commissioner to Pakistan, Christian Turner, confirmed the decision was taken by the ECB on the grounds of player welfare.
The first trip by the England men’s side to Pakistan since 2005 was only meant to last four days with two Twenty20 matches in Rawalpindi on October 13 and 14.
Two women’s T20 matches were scheduled on the same days as double-headers with three women’s one-day internationals to follow in the same city.
Reaction to the withdrawal in Pakistan has been furious.
Pakistan traveled 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.
“It’s the feeling of being used and then binned. That’s the feeling I have right now,” Raja told reporters.
“A little bit of hand-holding, a little bit of caring was needed after the New Zealand pull out and we didn’t get that from England which is so frustrating.
“We’ve been going out of our way to meet the international demands, being such a responsible member of the cricketing fraternity, and in return we get a response from ECB saying the players were spooked by New Zealand’s withdrawal. What does that mean?“
New Zealand officials refused to give details of the security threat that forced them to abruptly cancel their matches.
A deadly 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore saw Pakistan become a no-go destination for international teams.
In 2012 and 2015 Pakistan hosted England in the UAE, which has staged most of their “home” games since the attack.
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.
“I share the deep sadness of cricket fans that England will not tour Pakistan in October,” Turner said in a video post on Twitter. “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 series was supposed to be part of the preparation for England’s men ahead of next month’s T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates and Oman.
But many of their star players would now be free to play in the latter stages of the lucrative Indian Premier League, also being hosted in the UAE, should their sides reach the knockout phase.
“You are quoting fatigue and mental tension and players being spooked and a hour-and-a-half flight from here before a World Cup they are quite happy to be caged in a bubble environment and carry on with the tournament,” added Raja.
“One feels slighted, one feels humiliated because withdrawal doesn’t have an answer.”
The ECB’s decision has also been met with fierce criticism at home.
“They had a chance to repay a debt, uphold their honor 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.”
Pakistan ‘used and binned’ by England over canceled tour
https://arab.news/muumm
Pakistan ‘used and binned’ by England over canceled tour
- The British High Commissioner to Pakistan confirmed the decision was taken on the grounds of player welfare
- Pakistan’s cricket chief says ‘a little bit of caring was needed after the New Zealand pull out and we didn’t get that from England’
Traders say Karachi plaza fire caused $54 million losses as search for bodies continues
- Authorities say at least 67 people died in January 17 blaze at Gul Plaza complex
- Recovery teams search unstable debris, Sindh government announces compensation
ISLAMABAD/KARACHI: A deadly fire at a major shopping plaza in Pakistan’s largest city of Karachi has caused estimated losses of up to Rs15 billion ($53.6 million), a traders representative said this week, as authorities continue rescue and recovery operations and struggle to identify dozens of victims killed in the blaze.
The fire broke out on Jan. 17 at Gul Plaza, a densely packed commercial building in the heart of Karachi and home to over 1,200 shops, trapping workers and shoppers inside and burning for more than 24 hours before being brought under control. At least 67 people have been confirmed dead, officials say, while recovery teams remain at the site amid fears of further structural collapse.
Tanveer Pasta, president of the Gul Plaza Market Association, said all shops in the plaza were destroyed, estimating total losses at up to Rs15 billion ($53.6 million).
“There were big importers sitting here,” he told Arab News on Thursday. “Just three days before this fire, 31 [shipping] containers were unloaded.”
Earlier this week, the Sindh government had announced compensation of Rs10 million ($35,720) for each person killed in the fire and said affected shopkeepers would also receive financial assistance.
Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab said the city administration remained focused on rescue operations and on handing over victims’ remains to their families as quickly as possible. His remarks came after he visited the homes of several victims, according to a statement from his office.
“Rescue personnel of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation are still engaged in the rescue operation, while the administration is making every effort to hand over [remains] of the victims, loved ones to their families at the earliest,” Wahab was quoted as saying.
Identification has been significantly slowed by the condition of the bodies recovered from the site, Karachi Police Surgeon Dr. Summaiya Syed said.
Most remains were found in fragments, she said, complicating forensic identification and prolonging the process for families waiting for confirmation.
Relatives of more than a dozen missing persons have remained near the destroyed plaza and at hospitals even after providing DNA samples. Some families have criticized what they describe as the slow pace of recovery and identification.
Wahab said the provincial government had committed to supporting affected families and rehabilitating victims.
“The Sindh government would also not sit back until the victims are fully rehabilitated and that all possible support would be provided [to them],” he said.
Authorities have not yet confirmed the cause of the fire. Police have said preliminary indications point to a possible electrical short circuit, though officials stress conclusions will only be drawn after investigations are completed.
Deadly fires are a recurring problem in Karachi, a city of more than 20 million people, where overcrowded markets, aging infrastructure, illegal construction and weak enforcement of safety regulations frequently contribute to disasters. Officials say a blaze of this scale is rare.
