New Zealand Tour of Pakistan after 15 years, Yes or No?

New Zealand said they are considering about touring Pakistan for the first time since 2003, but Australia has denied any possibility of touring this attack-troubled country. New Zealand Cricket officials said that they are considering this after requesting to play T20 matches in Pakistan. The team had a fatal suicide attack outside the team hotel during the Pakistan tour in 2002. Although Cricket Australia said that they have no plans to play in Pakistan. A spokeswoman of Cricket Australia said, “The security of Australian players is our priority.” She said, “From the perspective of the Australian team, we are not contemplating to face Pakistan in a place other than West Asia under the current bilateral tour program. ‘

The Pakistan Cricket Board, however, has asked both(New Zealand and Pakistan) teams to come to Pakistan for T20 matches, where the return of international cricket is gradually coming back. Most international teams have not visited Pakistan since the death of eight people in the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore in 2009. New Zealand team has not come to Pakistan since 2003. This year, 15 people were killed in a suicide bombing outside their hotel in Karachi a year ago.

The New Zealand team has to play Test and ODI series with Pakistan in November this year. This series will be played in the UAE, which has been formed as the home base of Pakistan since 2009. Since the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore in 2008, the home base of the Pakistan team has remained the UAE itself. New Zealand Cricket is considering an invocation to go to Pakistan to play a T20 match under this tour.

During the Test series in Karachi in 2002, there was an attack happened on the New Zealand team’s hotel. This attack was not a casualty to a player, but eight Pakistani people were killed in this. After the attack, New Zealand left the tour incomplete. In 2003, Kiwi team once again went to play one-day series in Pakistan, but since then New Zealand has not toured Pakistan. Recently the Sri Lankan team played a T20 match in Lahore.