Pakistan have been "used and binned" by the "Western bloc", says cricket board chairman Ramiz Raja, who fears Australia will join New Zealand and England in cancelling their tours to the Asian country.
England have called off their men's and women's teams tours of Pakistan next month, citing the "mental and physical well-being" of the players.
That follows New Zealand's abrupt abandonment of their tour minutes before the opening fixture at Rawalpindi last Friday, after a security alert from their government.
"How I wish today that I was still a YouTuber, rather than the chairman of the cricket board, because I would have absolutely taken on New Zealand and England unabashedly," Raja says.
"It's the feeling of being used and then binned - that is the feeling that I have right now," the former Pakistan captain says. "I certainly feel that we are up against a western mindset, a Western bloc."
Raja pointed out Pakistan's trips to New Zealand and England last year, defying the COVID-19 crisis, and felt their withdrawals would have a domino effect.
"West Indies could be a little jittery, and we know that the Australians will probably do what the New Zealanders and England have done, so there goes our domestic international calendar."
Cricket Australia says it will "talk with the relevant authorities, once more information becomes known", before its scheduled tour early next year.
Shunned by all after the deadly 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan team bus at Lahore, Pakistan have tried to woo back top international teams.
Raja feels particularly let down by the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
"A little bit of hand holding, a little bit of caring was needed, especially after New Zealand pulled out, and we didn't get that from [the] ECB," he says.
England, who last visited Pakistan in 2005, are scheduled to tour the country in the 2022/23 season, but after a chat with ECB chairman Ian Whatmore, Raja is taking nothing for granted.
"I said 'what is the guarantee of England coming back and playing here?', because a month before that tour, you can easily quote tiredness, players being spooked again, sick of living in a bubble."
The ECB has declined to respond to Raja's comments, saying it had nothing to add to its previous statement. According to media reports, the PCB faces losses of US$15-25 million due to the tour cancellations.
Reuters
