Afghanistan tour of Pakistan called off after Lahore blasts

The Pakistan Cricket Board’s proposed three-match ODI series at home against Afghanistan has been indefinitely kept in abeyance in the aftermath of recent bombing incident that took place in Lahore on Sunday. Earlier, PCB planned to host Afghanistan for a series to fill the long void before Pakistan’s scheduled tour to England in the summers.

The two boards - PCB and the Afghanistan Cricket Board - had already negotiated their terms and waiting for the final nod from the Punjab and Sindh governments to finalize Karachi and Lahore as the venues for the proposed matches. Zimbabwe became the first team to visit Pakistan last year since the infamous 2009 saga when there was an armed attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team.

The entire Zimbabwe series was staged at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore but this time, the PCB was keen on hosting matches in Karachi too. Afghanistan was proposed to either play two four-day matches and three ODIs or just the three ODIs.

The series has been postponed

According to a report in The Express Tribune, the proposed series with Afghanistan has been postponed for an indefinite period in the wake of the Lahore blast. The report also added, “The board was waiting for security clearances [from the Sindh and Punjab governments], but looking at the unfortunate incident in Lahore a few days ago, we were forced to cancel the tour. Once the security situation improves, then we’ll see if this series can take place.”

The PCB is also hoping to host a star-studded World XI in September and England and Wales Cricket Board Chairman Giles Clarke is expected to visit Pakistan in April in this regard. International teams have refused to visit Pakistan since that barbaric attack on the Sri Lankan cricketers and now the hopes of hosting an international team received a major jolt after another blast in the country.

Teams have often cited security reasons for not touring Pakistan and the incessant bombings in the country have made the situation worse. Afghanistan displayed some great cricket in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2016 and they ended their campaign on a high after beating the mighty West Indies in their last game of the tournament. They were a competitive side and gave a good fight against top cricketing nations like England, South Africa and Sri Lanka.

It would have been an interesting series for sure had it not been postponed. Pakistan’s hopes of hosting an International team once again hit a roadblock.