ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry said consultations would be held with legal experts for taking legal action against New Zealand and England cricket boards.
In a tweet, the federal minister said that cancellation of New Zealand and England cricket teams tours to Pakistan cost PTV millions of rupees. He said that an international lobby was working against Pakistan.
He said those who want to force Pakistan to surrender before them never succeed and they should end their misconception as early as possible.
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
England on Monday cancelled their men’s and women’s teams tour of Pakistan next month citing “mental and physical well-being” of the players. It followed New Zealand’s abrupt abandonment of their tour minutes before the opening fixture in Rawalpindi following a security alert from their government.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja said Pakistan have been let down by the “Western bloc” and the back-to-back pullouts by New Zealand and England could have a “domino effect” for cricket in the country.
“I am very disappointed by England’s withdrawal but it was expected because this Western bloc gets united unfortunately and tries to back each other,” Raja, who took over as PCB chief earlier this month, said in a video shared by the PCB.
“You can take any decision on the basis of security threat and perception. But there’s a lesson for us. We go out of our way to accommodate and pamper these sides when they visit…from now on, we’ll tour only when it serves our interest.”
The former Pakistan captain said there was a sense of anger in his country as New Zealand refused to share the exact threat, which necessitated a step that has far-reaching consequences for the hosts.
“It can have a domino effect. It can hit the tour by West Indies, and Australia are already reconsidering their tour next year,” Raja said.
“England, Australia, New Zealand – they are part of one bloc. Who can we complain to? We thought they were our own but they haven’t accepted us as theirs.”
According to media reports, the PCB is facing a loss that could be anything between $15-25 million after the twin pullouts but Raja said he was determined to claim compensation from New Zealand Cricket.
Pakistan could have hosted Zimbabwe and a second-string Bangladesh team to fill the void but the PCB would not resort to such “desperation”, he said. Pakistan would have been treated better had PCB had more financial clout.
