Australian cricketers anxious to travel to Pakistan for a full-fledged tour. Ahead of Australia’s full-fledged tour of Pakistan, the Aussie cricketers have expressed their nervousness to travel to the Asian country owing to security threats. The high profile Down-Under cricketers are reportedly concerned about their safety which has put the tour in jeopardy.
After a long haul of 24 years, Australia is fixed to tour Pakistan for three Test matches, as many ODI games and a solitary T20I fixture. The series between Pakistan and Australia is scheduled to commence on March 3.
The recent terror attacks in Lahore in which three people were killed and 28 were wounded have left the Australians to serious deliberations to visit that part of the globe.
It must be noted that Pakistan was left deserted by almost every international cricket playing nation following the attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in 2009. Though in the recent past, several countries have toured Pakistan for the resurgence of cricket in the country, none of the team’s has felt safe enough to visit freely as there has been some element of risk involved.
New Zealand, last year, pulled out of their scheduled tour to Pakistan, minutes before the start of the 1st ODI citing security threats. Soon after New Zealand withdrew from their tour, England Cricket Board also took a step back to ensure their player’s safety and cancelled the tour to Pakistan.
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A source close to the Australian cricket team informed the Herald and The Age, that the cricketers are worried about their security. “We’re all toey about it,” told the source.
“Cricket Australia (CA) and the Pakistan Cricket Board continue to work closely in planning the tour and are in regular contact with our respective governments. “A constructive pre-tour visit of Pakistan was undertaken by CA and Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA) representatives in December, with detailed planning and preparation for the tour ongoing,” the statement from Cricket Australia said.
“We continue to have regular and open discussions with our players and support staff on the extensive security, biosecurity and operational arrangements for the tour,” it read further.
Meanwhile, ahead of the tour to Pakistan, Australia will host Sri Lanka for the shortest format series. Australia and Sri Lanka are settled to play five T20Is. The Aussie squad for the same has been announced by Cricket Australia (CA) on Tuesday.
It will be interesting to see if the planned Australia tour of Pakistan goes as per the schedule or not. If that happens, it will be a tremendous success for Pakistan, the country which is putting every ounce of its energy into restoring international cricket back.
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