England tour of Pakistan might be under massive a security scanner following the assassination attempt on former Pakistan Prime Minister (PM) and 1992 Cricket World Cup-winning captain Imran Khan earlier this week. England pacer Mark Wood was vocal in raising his concern over the matter.
The Ben Stokes-led outfit is scheduled to play three Test matches in the country starting from December 1 with Rawalpindi, Multan, and Karachi set to host the games. Last month, England had toured Pakistan for a 7-match T20I series which saw four games take place in Karachi and three in Lahore as the two teams finalised their preparation for the ongoing 2022 T20 World Cup.
Wood claimed that it was worrying to go into a country where there is civil unrest but stated he was prepared to do whatever is decided and expressed trust in the England cricket team‘s security personnel. “It’s obviously not great is it. First of all he’s an ex-cricketer, so it’s close to home for us. It’s obviously hugely sad news to hear that as a group,” said Wood to reporters on Friday ahead of the England-Sri Lanka T20 World Cup match at SCG.
“From the security we had (on the T20 tour) I can only mention what we came across and it was fantastic. We were looked after really well but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried by that because you’re going back there when there’s been trouble.
“It’ll be for people above me to decide whatever happens. But obviously it’s worrying when you’re going back there as a cricketer and there’s unrest in the country. It’s for their country to deal with, not us. We trust our security guys that tell us what to do,” he added.
It is only over the last couple of years that high-profile cricket has returned to Pakistan after a long hiatus following the terror attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team’s team bus in 2009 near the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
