Former Black Caps batsman and coach, Glenn Turner says the tour of Pakistan should never have gone ahead as the country faced the "double whammy" of Covid-19 and security worries.
Glenn Turner Photo: Photosport
New Zealand Cricket abandoned the tour last night, just before the start of the first one-dayer in Rawalpindi, citing a security threat.
Turner says it was a bad idea to send the team to Pakistan in the first place.
The veteran of 41 tests and ranked among our greatest batsmen had sent an open letter to NZ Cricket saying he was concerned for the players' safety both through Covid-19 and security issues caused by the instability on the Pakistan border with Afghanistan.
Today he told RNZ that he was not surprised the tour was called off at the last moment, though it was very disappointing.
"I challenged the wisdom of it in the first instance.
"The duty of care for athletes by organisations is uppermost in peoples' minds at the moment.
"Yet, here was a decision that cricketers will go to a country which not just ravaged by Covid-19 - it is averaging around 4,500 cases a day - but has on its border the Taliban taking power.
"There was a double risk there and one would have to ask why on earth our national team would be sent there."
He said the Taliban had cells within Pakistan.
The cancellation, literarlly in the hour before the first ball of the opening ODI, has caused anger and frustration among Pakistani cricketers and fans.
"I am not surprised by the reaction in Pakistan. They are a very proud people and they think things like this reflect badly on their country."
But Turner said it was irrelevant, as safety had to come first.
He said he was worried that some countries are under so much financial pressure that they feel they have to keep the wheels of sports tours rolling, even if they were better delayed.
The Black Caps are now trying to get home.
