MELBOURNE: Australian social worker Shaniera Akram responded to New Zealand cricket team cancelling their tour over security concerns.
“There is no place in the world I feel more safe than in Pakistan,” the wife of former cricketer Wasim Akram, said in a tweet.
There is no place in the world I feel more safe than in Pakistan ????????
— Shaniera Akram (@iamShaniera) September 18, 2021
New Zealand unilaterally called off their first Pakistan series in 18 years on Friday just before the first one-day international was due to start in Rawalpindi.
The newly-elected chairman of the PCB Ramiz Raja admitted that Pakistani cricket was facing “a lot of pressure” and that the nation was resilient. “Your pain and my pain is the same, it’s a shared pain. Whatever happened was not good for Pakistan cricket,” he said.
Former players have stated keeping international cricket in Pakistan is the key priority. Former captain Shahid Afridi said they have sacrificed a lot over the years and deserve “a better deal”.
“We have done more than enough for them,” he said. “We toured England and New Zealand (last year) despite fears of pandemic and we want them to reciprocate.”
Meanwhile, several foreign cricketers including West Indies cricketer Daren Sammy, Sri Lanka’s Angelo Perera also voiced support for Pakistan after New Zealand’s pull out.
New Zealand created a new controversy by refusing to play just hours before the match despite arriving in Pakistan and all preparations being complete. The tour of England next month and Australia to Pakistan in February 2022 are also shrouded with uncertainty.
Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed said that New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had told Prime Minister Imran Khan that security of players was paramount and they were at risk outside the stadium.
