Cricket in Pakistan an ‘Unacceptable Risk’: International Players’ Association Warns Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe may have agreed to send their team for the first international cricket series in Pakistan since 2009 but the international cricketers’ association remains skeptical about Pakistan’s ability to host international teams. The association has advised Zimbabwe to reconsider the decision.

According to a report in the Associated Press, the Federation of International Cricketers’ Association has termed any cricket in Pakistan as an ‘unacceptable risk.’ Tony Irish, the executive chairman of FICA, is believed to have advised teams not to play in Pakistan as “the security environment cannot be controlled or influenced to an extent that the risk becomes acceptable.Zimabwe agreed to become the first full ICC member nation to play in Pakistan since the March 3, 2009 terror attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore. Six policemen and a bus driver was killed in the attack close to the Gadaffi stadium.

International boycott since has left Pakistan cricket reeling with stadiums here shut and young talents suffering due to limited exposure to world-class cricket. Pakistan have mostly played their ‘home’ series in the Gulf venues of Abu Dhabi and Dubai.