English cricketers are touring Pakistan, says frustrated Mushtaq Ahmed

Granted: 9/29/2021 – 04:54Adapted: 9/29/2021 – 04:52

Lahore (Pakistan) (AFP)

Former hockey player Mushtaq Ahmed believes English crickets would happily tour Pakistan, and says his country would deserve better if it traveled the other way at the height of the pandemic.

Ahmed, who has a foot in both camps after serving as England’s spin-bowling coach from 2009-2015, expressed his frustration at AFP after English cricketers controversially canceled the men’s and women’s team tours to cricket-crazy Pakistan next month.

The English men’s first trip to Pakistan since 2005 was meant to last just four days with two 2020 matches in Rawalpindi.

However, the Cricket Committee of England and Wales (ECB) last week mentioned “growing concern about traveling in the area”, days after New Zealand abandoned its tour of Pakistan minutes before the start of the first one-day international Rawalpindi, citing a safety warning. .

The ECB’s decision was furious in Pakistan, which only rose higher after the Daily Mail reported that English players had not been consulted.

“I think from my experience that I played in England and also as an English coach for six years, I think the guys are very open-minded and they know the conditions in the world,” Ahmed, 51, said of the English players.

“I know them – I played a lot of cricketers, I trained them for six years, I played (English) county cricket,” he added.

“I think the players are sure to come now,” he said, noting that several English players have been involved in the Pakistan Super League in recent seasons.

Ahmed said Pakistan deserved better when they toured England last year.

Pakistan traveled at a time when Britain’s Covid-19 infections were among the highest in the world in the three-match Test and T20 series, saving the ECB millions of television contracts.

“If (a) a team can travel in a Korona (virus) situation when people died (in the UK) and Pakistan went to England and played in the league, they should have recognized it and they should respect it,” Ahmed said.

– Become a hero –

Ahmed, who played 52 tests, 144 one-day international matches and was part of Pakistan’s 1992 World Cup winning team, said other cricket rounds and tournaments had progressed in countries where there had been terrorist attacks.

However, the deadly attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore in 2009 made Pakistan a no-go target for international teams.

In 2012 and 2015, Pakistan hosted England in the United Arab Emirates, which has hosted most of its home games since the attack.

Ahmed said playing out of Pakistan was “very difficult” for the team.

“I say that because heroes become heroes when they play in front of their home troops, and that’s when you start believing that you can represent your country – you deserve this forum,” he said.

“When you play in Pakistan, I remember feeling a different body language within myself and I had a different way of thinking,” he added.

“I thought that when you take a throw, take a great catch, that kind of reception from the people of Pakistan (is amazing).

“When you hit six, as the audience shouted, you become a hero.”

2021 AFP