West Indies Snubbed Pakistan’s Invitation To Tour Them Citing Security Issues
Dec 31, 2018 at 1:56 PM
The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has snubbed Pakistan’s offer to tour them citing security concerns raised by the Federation of International Cricket Association (FICA).
West Indies, who was earlier scheduled to play two T20Is in Pakistan in Mid-March earlier, has cancelled their plans and now, the two boards will sit down to discuss the possibility of holding the matches in Florida, USA on March 19 and 20. According to the proposals, the matches were scheduled to take place in Lahore.
It is understood that before West Indies could give a nod to PCB over the bilateral series, they seek FICA advice about the current situations in Pakistan. FICA, however, came up with an answer in a report saying Pakistan remains “at an extremely elevated state” and that “an acceptable level of participant security and safety cannot be expected or guaranteed“.
On Wednesday, the WICB released the schedule for their series against Pakistan in the Caribbean consisting of two T20Is, three ODI’s and as many Tests across five venues. The seven-week long series for Pakistan is scheduled to start from March.
After Ireland and Sri Lanka, West Indies became the third team in recent two years to say no to travelling to Pakistan for any bilateral series, and much to everyone’s expectations, the reasons were pointing towards the security concerns in the country.