Reacting to the second blow to Pakistan’s international cricket dreams with New Zealand backing off from the tour, Australian batsman Usman Khwaja said that the scenario wouldn’t be repeated if it was India in the place of Pakistan as “no one says no” to it.
The disappointed remark came following New Zealand’s sudden decision to abandon Pakistan just minutes before the tournament was scheduled to start in the country. Citing “security concerns”, NZ chose to withdraw from the matches and get their players out of Pakistan.
Usman Khwaja said that the decision could be sparked by financial issues as “money talks”. The batsman, who shifted to Australia from Pakistan with his family at the age of five, said he will not have any problem in travelling and playing in Pakistan. Australia is due to play there after the Ashes.
Speaking about the incident, the batsman said, “I feel it’s very easy for players and organisations to say no to Pakistan, because it’s Pakistan…I think the same thing would apply too if it were Bangladesh. But nobody would say no to India, if they’re in the same situation,” he added.
“Money talks, we all know that, and that’s probably a big part of it,” he said, adding that Pakistan has proved multiple times that they are a safe land to play in.
With NZ opting out of the tour because of security reasons, the batsman said that Pakistan has a lot of security. Heavy, heavy security” and he hasn’t heard anything about the issue from people who have been there. “Even talking to the guys during the PSL about what it’s like…they would say the same thing to me ‘like 10 years ago, maybe not, but now 100 per cent’,” he said.
New Zealand’s match in Pakistan would be the first in many years. However, the Rawalpindi match cancellation ruined the dreams of the nation and its fans who hoped to watch the game on their homeground.
The match abandonment was preceded by England just days earlier. The British nation had chosen to walk out of both the men’s and women’s team tour.
The perceptions of the Australian batsman were, however, met with sarcastic and ruthless comments from social media users who called him a “hypocrite”.
