‘Unfair’ on Pakistan
USMAN Khawaja has declared money talks in an international cricket world, which would never dare snub India in the way it has Pakistan.
New Zealand and England this week cancelled tours of Pakistan due to security concerns, as heartbroken local officials feared their country would regress to being the international wasteland it was for a decade after terrorists bombed a Sri Lankan team bus in 2009.
Australia is scheduled to tour Pakistan early next year but that tour remains under an ever-darkening cloud.
Former Test batsman Khawaja, born in Pakistan before coming to Australia at age five, feels his former homeland does not have the financial clout of mega-rich India and gets treated accordingly.
“It is very easy for players and organisations to say no to Pakistan because it is Pakistan,’’ said Khawaja, who will captain the Queensland Bulls in their Sheffield Shield summer which starts in Brisbane against Tasmania next week.
“I think the same thing would apply if it is Bangladesh but no one would say no to India if they were in the same situation. It is disappointing in some respects. Money talks. We all know that. That is probably a big part of it.
“Pakistan should be a big objective for world cricket. They missed out on cricket for a long time.
“They keep proving time and again through their tournaments they are a safe place to play cricket. There is no reason why we should not go back. We still need to work towards getting cricket back in Pakistan.
“I am extremely disappointed from a cricketing sense. I don’t know everything that is going in. Obviously they are doing their own security measures.’’
Khawaja recently played in the Pakistan Super League in Abu Dhabi but said there was a growing feeling Pakistan is much safer than it used to be.
“I was willing to go to Pakistan (but the tournament was shifted to Abu Dhabi). Ben Cutting who is one of my good mates went there a few times and felt safe.”
Meanwhile, Cricket Australia is nervously awaiting news from England about whether players will accept its Covid protocols after Prime Minister Scott Morrison told his British counterpart Boris Johnson no additional exemptions had been granted.
“I would love to see the Ashes go ahead, as I shared with Boris last night,” he told reporters in Washington.
“But there’s no special deals there, because what we’re looking to have is vaccinated people being able to travel.”