We should give credit to Sri Lanka for defying everyone else and braving a tour of Pakistan. I can imagine how frustrating it is for Pakistanis, but cricketers should not have to go on tour fearing for their own lives. You can say that the 7/7 bombings in London were just before the start of the Ashes and they went ahead, but it was an isolated incident. Not to mention I would put far more faith in the British police than I would the Pakistani police. Eventually the country will regain control but until then you can't blame cricket teams for not touring.
Anyway, after venting my frustrations above:
Here's the thing - if you're gonna go to Baluchistan and NWFP (where the "war" was going on with Taliban, now ceasefire / truce has been declared), then you're gonna be in trouble
Just like in SA, if you're gonna go down some dark alley, you're very likely to get mugged / ***** / killed / whatever else.
Precautions have to be taken wherever you go - in Pakistan it is pretty much staying in the hotel / staying with the security / staying in the major cities in front of people.
In 2005 when the Barmy Army came to Pakistan, they went into a shop on the side of the street to drink tea. People would come up to them and ask them about their views on Pakistan, because they (the average person) felt that Pakistan was perceived as a "no-go" zone for the West (which I guess is true)
And people wouldn't let the English get up from their seats, they wouldn't allow them to pay (they wanted to pay for it). I have it on DVD, its from a DVD called Inzamam's Invincibles.
But my point is, if they, in 2005 could make the trip to Pakistan, and go to Multan and Faislabad which are considerably smaller centers, I think it can be done, with the proper precautions taken.
zMario added 0 Minutes and 32 Seconds later...
It's the security reason, even Pak reached the top limit for securities the Cricket boards are too much scared to sent the team to play..
After the Terror attacks in Mumbai, no Indian wanted to tour Pak it includes fans player board members .
I really want India to tour Pak and vice versa, this two sub con team are really 2 good sides in terms of cricket it's due to the issues which the other side is failing to understand and cricket then have to suffer
For India, it was never a security issue. It was
all political.
You know that, and I know that.