West Indies legend Michael Holding says England’s choice to cancel their white-ball tour of Pakistan smacks of “Western arrogance” and the nation would by no means have achieved the identical to a “rich and powerful” India .
England’s males’s and ladies’s groups have been to tour Pakistan this month, however their cricket board (ECB) canceled each collection, citing the gamers’ “mental and physical well-being” and security considerations.
“The ECB’s statement does not wash with me. No substance,” Holding was quoted as saying by BBC Sport after receiving the Cricket Writers’ Club Peter Smith Award on Tuesday.
“No one desires to come back ahead and face something as a result of they know what they did was improper. So he made an announcement and hid behind an announcement. It simply jogs my memory of the crap they did with Black Lives Matter,” he stated.
England have been to play two T20 matches in opposition to Pakistan on 13 and 14 October. (file)
“I will not return into it as a result of I’ve stated sufficient about it. But the sign it sends me is similar Western ego.
I’ll deal with you the way in which I need to deal with you, it would not matter what you assume, I’ll do what I need to,” he stated.
The ECB’s choice to skip the tour got here three days after New Zealand pulled out of the last-minute tour of Pakistan because of safety considerations.
If the tour had taken place, it could have been the primary time since 2005 that England’s males would have performed in Pakistan, whereas their girls would by no means have performed in that nation.
Expressing sympathy for Pakistan, stated that if India had been there, England wouldn’t have dared to cancel the tour.
“Pakistan went to England for six or seven weeks before vaccines were available,” stated Holding, who performed 60 Tests for the West Indies earlier than turning into a famous commentator.
“They stayed, they performed their cricket, they did the respect they wished to provide to England, to save lots of England’s butt, to save lots of England’s butt.
“Four days in Pakistan? I am quite sure that he would not have done this to India, because India is rich and powerful.”
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
