Xtra Time Web Desk: A report from an international security agency ‘Five Eyes’ is behind New Zealand abruptly abandoning the tour to Pakistan. The BlackCaps squad decided against going to the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Friday to play the first ODI against Pakistan after security alert from New Zealand Government. The entire saga has created a lot of chaos and the Pakistan Cricket Board isn’t happy with their counterparts by any stretch of the imagination.
A report from Five Eyes, an intelligence alliance of New Zealand, Canada, USA, UK and Australia, played a major role in the series cancellation. The threats weren’t deemed baseless after which the NZC and PCB jointly agreed to abandon the tour.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Imran Khan, the Pakistan Prime Minister, also had a long discussion on the same. After a lot of talks and deliberations, the decision to abandon the tour was taken. The upcoming tour was supposed to be New Zealand’s first tour of Pakistan after 18 years.
Earlier, New Zealand PM Ardern said that safety and security of the players should be of top-most priority above anything and everything.
The New Zealand squad is currently in Dubai. The players selected in BlackCaps T20 World Cup squad will stay back for the T20 World Cup while the others will fly back to New Zealand.