Afghanistan is in a crisis situation, with several citizens of the country looking to leave in desperation. There also stands the risk of the crisis in Afghanistan impacting its neighbouring countries, especially Pakistan. In lieu of the situation, the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is set to review the security arrangements of the tour of its men’s and women’s teams in Pakistan.
England men’s team is scheduled to travel to Pakistan for the first time in 16 years in October this year for 2 T20Is. The England women’s team, on the other hand, are slated to play Pakistan women’s team in 2T20Is and 3 ODIs.
As per a report in Daily Mail, Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan has got ECB worried. While some of the players will be busy with their respective franchises in the Indian Premier League (IPL) during this period, others will have a tough call to make over their participation if the tour does go ahead.
Even in 2016, the likes of Eoin Morgan and Alex Hales had decided to skip the tour of Bangladesh over security concerns. A similar decision by some of the players this time around can’t entirely be ruled out.
“For any tour there’s ongoing security procedures and checks. We continue to plan for the men’s and women’s tour of Pakistan this autumn,” an ECB spokesperson said over the tour.
Afghanistan, meanwhile, are in a tumultuous situation over their national women’s team. While the group of players has been assembled, the Afghanistan Cricket Board could see the move being blocked by the Taliban.
“We have kept the salaries and they are on our payroll. If the government decides that we don’t go with the national women’s team, we will have to stop it. It is up to the government to decide and, as an employee, we go ahead with the rules and regulations,” Hamid Shinwari, the board’s chief executive, said in a podcast.
