AIRLINK 78.39 Increased By ▲ 5.39 (7.38%)
BOP 5.34 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.19%)
CNERGY 4.33 Increased By ▲ 0.02 (0.46%)
DFML 30.87 Increased By ▲ 2.32 (8.13%)
DGKC 78.51 Increased By ▲ 4.22 (5.68%)
FCCL 20.58 Increased By ▲ 0.23 (1.13%)
FFBL 32.30 Increased By ▲ 1.40 (4.53%)
FFL 10.22 Increased By ▲ 0.16 (1.59%)
GGL 10.29 Decreased By ▼ -0.10 (-0.96%)
HBL 118.50 Increased By ▲ 2.53 (2.18%)
HUBC 135.10 Increased By ▲ 2.90 (2.19%)
HUMNL 6.87 Increased By ▲ 0.19 (2.84%)
KEL 4.17 Increased By ▲ 0.14 (3.47%)
KOSM 4.73 Increased By ▲ 0.13 (2.83%)
MLCF 38.67 Increased By ▲ 0.13 (0.34%)
OGDC 134.85 Increased By ▲ 1.00 (0.75%)
PAEL 23.40 Decreased By ▼ -0.43 (-1.8%)
PIAA 26.64 Decreased By ▼ -0.49 (-1.81%)
PIBTL 7.02 Increased By ▲ 0.26 (3.85%)
PPL 113.45 Increased By ▲ 0.65 (0.58%)
PRL 27.73 Decreased By ▼ -0.43 (-1.53%)
PTC 14.60 Decreased By ▼ -0.29 (-1.95%)
SEARL 56.50 Increased By ▲ 0.08 (0.14%)
SNGP 66.30 Increased By ▲ 0.50 (0.76%)
SSGC 10.94 Decreased By ▼ -0.07 (-0.64%)
TELE 9.15 Increased By ▲ 0.13 (1.44%)
TPLP 11.67 Decreased By ▼ -0.23 (-1.93%)
TRG 71.43 Increased By ▲ 2.33 (3.37%)
UNITY 24.51 Increased By ▲ 0.80 (3.37%)
WTL 1.33 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
BR100 7,493 Increased By 58.6 (0.79%)
BR30 24,558 Increased By 338.4 (1.4%)
KSE100 72,052 Increased By 692.5 (0.97%)
KSE30 23,808 Increased By 241 (1.02%)

LAHORE: Former spinner Mushtaq Ahmed believes that England's cricketers would happily tour Pakistan and says his country deserved better having travelled 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 in 2009-2015, voiced his frustration to AFP after English cricket chiefs controversially cancelled tours for their men's and women's teams next month to cricket-crazy Pakistan.

The first trip by the England men's side to Pakistan since 2005 was only meant to last four days with two Twenty20 matches in Rawalpindi.

But the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) last week cited "increasing concerns about travelling to the region", days after New Zealand abandoned their tour of Pakistan minutes before the start of the first one-day international in Rawalpindi, citing a security alert.

England cricket team 'reluctantly' withdraws from tour to Pakistan

The ECB decision was met with fury in Pakistan which only went up a notch after the Daily Mail newspaper reported that the England players were not consulted.

"I think from my experience, playing in England and also coach of England for six years, I think the guys are very open-minded and they know the circumstances of the world," Ahmed, 51, said of the English players.

"I know them -- I played with lots of cricketers, I coached them for six years, I played (English) county cricket," he added.

"I think (the) players will definitely come now," he said, pointing out that a number of England players had featured in the Pakistan Super League in recent seasons.

Ahmed said that Pakistan deserved better after they toured England last year.

Pakistan travelled a time when Covid-19 infection rates in Britain were among the highest in the world for a three-match Test and T20 series that saved the ECB millions in television rights deals.

"If (a) team can travel in corona (virus) situation when the people were dying (in Britain) and Pakistan went to England and played a series, then they should have acknowledged that and they should respect that," said Ahmed.

Moeen a huge loss to England test side, says skipper Root

Becoming a hero

Ahmed, who played 52 Tests, 144 one-day internationals and was a member of Pakistan's 1992 World Cup-winning team, said that other cricket tours and tournaments had gone ahead in countries where there had been terror attacks.

However, a deadly 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore saw Pakistan become a no-go destination for international teams.

In 2012 and 2015 Pakistan hosted England in the UAE, which has staged most of their "home" games since the attack.

"I am saying that because heroes become heroes when they play in front of their home crowds and that is when you start believing that you can represent your country -- you deserve that platform," he said.

England call off Pakistan tour

"When you play in Pakistan I remember that I used to feel different body language in me and used to have a different mindset," he added.

"I used to think that when you take a wicket, take a brilliant catch, the kind of reception from Pakistan people (is amazing).

"When you hit a six, the way the crowds used to shout, you become a hero."

Comments

Comments are closed.