Williamson hopes for no 'lasting impact' on Pakistan cricket after New Zealand's abandoned tour

New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson has extended his best wishes to Pakistan cricket in the aftermath of his team’s withdrawal from the country without playing a single game of a full-fledged scheduled tour.

Williamson reiterated that players’ safety is “paramount” and they should not be blamed for the “sudden call” of withdrawal from the series as that decision was taken by the government. He confirmed that players were ready to go to the ground before the message came from the New Zealand government.

"It was a sudden call, but obviously a real shame. Cricket in Pakistan is an amazing thing and so well supported. There is so much passion there and I think the guys will be gutted to not have started and played the whole series,” Williamson said to Sportstar.

“You want to be playing the game in all countries. It is an international game and there is so much passion for it around the world, particularly in Pakistan. It was really exciting to see the series go back there and I know our team was looking forward to it. Players’ safety is paramount and when you hear messages going through from the government, it is certainly above the players’ heads.”

Williamson also expressed hope that their pull out from the series will not have a “lasting impact” on the game in Pakistan as it has been a “special place” for the game of cricket.

“They were obviously over there, ready to go to the ground. It is a sudden thing that happened. I certainly hope there is no lasting impact from it because it is a special place for cricket to be and there have been a lot of strides forward to see cricket go back into Pakistan and play there safely. We have seen that happen on a number of occasions, so hopefully, there is plenty more cricket there to come,” he concluded.

Williamson was not travelling with the New Zealand side and he is with the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the ongoing edition of the IPL in UAE. 

Meanwhile, the CEO of the New Zealand Cricket, David White confirmed a “specific credible” threat against the Blackcaps which forced them with no other options but to abandon the tour. He said that the board received risk assessments from both their security agency and independent sources before asking the players to come back.

However, he commended the Pakistan Cricket Board for professional behaviour in tough times and promised to find a way to tour the country again next year. He expressed hope of finding a “window” to make up for the abandoned series next year when they are scheduled to tour for a full series including two Test matches.

“It’s really disappointing for Pakistan cricket, but we had no option but to leave the tour, unfortunately. I was at home and we got a call from a government agency on Friday afternoon informing us of a specific credible threat against the team. 

I contacted our security person in Pakistan, which was at 3 am in the morning, and we just worked through it with him on the ground and other independent sources as well,” White said on Mornings with Ian Smith show on SEN Radio.

“I’m sure we’ll find a window. We are scheduled to play them next year in January and February, two Test matches as part of the World Test Championships and some ODIs, so maybe we can wrap the games around those series.”

New Zealand’s decision of leaving the series and Pakistan has not gone down well with the PCB and the newly-appointed chairman Ramiz Raja has threatened to “see” them at the ICC.