England's tour to Pakistan in doubt as New Zealand cancel series due to security reasons

England's tour to Pakistan in doubt as New Zealand cancel series due to security reasons (Reuters/File Photo)

Hours after New Zealand decided not to take part in the limited-over series against Pakistan, the latter faced another setback as England are now mulling whether to send their cricketers to the country for their upcoming tour. 

An England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) spokesperson confirmed that the cricket body will announce their decision in the next 24-48 hours.  

"We’re aware of New Zealand’s decision to pull out of the Pakistan tour due to a security alert. We are liaising with our security team who are on the ground in Pakistan to fully understand the situation."

"The ECB Board will then decide in the next 24-48 hours whether our planned tour should proceed," the spokesperson was quoted as saying in multiple news reports.  

READ | Shoaib Akhtar slams New Zealand for canceling series, reminds them of 'Christchurch attack'

England are scheduled to play two T20Is between October 13 and 14 before heading for the World Cup, which will be played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman. 

The decision by New Zealand comes after the authorities alerted the unit of a security threat. However, Pakistan have slammed the decision to abandon the series and the board president even threatened to drag the matter to ICC.   

Crazy day it has been! Feel so sorry for the fans and our players. Walking out of the tour by taking a unilateral approach on a security threat is very frustrating. Especially when it’s not shared!! Which world is NZ living in??NZ will hear us at ICC. — Ramiz Raja (@iramizraja) September 17, 2021

New Zealand cancelled the tour just before the start of the first ODI in Rawalpindi. This was New Zealand's first tour of Pakistan in 18 years and the series comprised three ODIs and five T20 Internationals.