5 times international teams refused to play due to security reasons

With terrorism growing in stature, security threats have been halting various sources of entertainment for the general public. From mass gatherings to witnessing a concert, a sports contest or any public exhibition is always packed with tight security as one never knows where the threat is coming from.

Cricket has been a victim of this many times. Fans in countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan have barely witnessed any proper action in recent years, because of the chaos that has happened in the past or which is happening currently.

Various cricket boards in the last few years have been very particular in sending their teams to Asian countries which are either allegedly involved in these negative practices or have been regular victims of it. Here are the five International tours which got cancelled due to security threats.

1. Australia and Windies in the 1996 World Cup

1996 began on a horrible note for the Sri Lankans as the Central Bank of Colombo was bombed in January. This happened just one month prior to the World Cup, which the Lankans eventually won. But there were various security concerns in the games which Sri Lanka hosted and the likes of Windies and Australia forfeited the match they were going to play in Sri Lanka.

As it turned out, both Australia and Windies teams managed to reach the semifinals and faced each other. It was the last time Windies ever reached a 50-overs World Cup semifinals. Australia won that game but lost to Sri Lanka in the final which was held in Lahore.

2. New Zealand tour of Pakistan, 2002

New Zealand was supposed to tour Pakistan in 2001, but the attack on the WTO in the USA saw the board back out for the time being. Another schedule with a high-security proposal was made by Pakistan, which the Kiwis accepted and the first Test between the sides was played out peacefully in Lahore.

Just two hours before the commencement of the second Test in Karachi, a bomb exploded close to the hotel where the New Zealand cricketers were staying. After that incident, the Kiwis travelled to Pakistan only once (in 2003/04) and it has been over a decade and a half since they stepped into the country.

3. England tour of India, 2009

India were supposed to host 7 ODIs and 2 Tests as per the schedule. England lost the first five games of the ODI series and after that, the terrorist attacks on Taj Hotel saw the visiting team back out midway, thus abandoning the remaining two ODIs.

It was a catastrophic time for India on the whole and since Test matches were supposed to be held in Ahmedabad and Mumbai, England cricket team flew to Abu Dhabi. Owing to the threat still lurking around the Western side of India, the Tests were shifted to Chennai and Mohali. The side came back and completed the series, but president-level security was provided to both teams.

4. Sri Lanka tour of Pakistan, 2009

Perhaps the ugliest and most frightening terrorist attack story cricket has witnessed. India was supposed to tour Pakistan in February 2009, but after the deadly attack on Taj Hotel, Mumbai, saw India back out. Sri Lankan board accepted a late invitation to fill the empty slot.

On their way to a practice session to the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, Lankan cricketers bus was attacked by a bunch of gunned hooligans. Some of the Pakistani police personnel sacrificed their lives to see the Lankans safely into the stadium, where a helicopter came in and transported them back to Colombo.

5. Australia tour of Bangladesh, 2015

The Australians have been cancelling various tours in the last two or three decades owing to security concerns and this was just one among them. “Following the most recent information from Australian government agencies and our own security advisors, we have decided that, regrettably, we have no alternative but to postpone the tour,” James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive officer announced.

There were reports flooding in Australian and Bangladeshi media that the security provision wasn’t going to be very strong. Cricket Australia‘s security head Sean Carroll met with the Bangladesh government, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the Australian High Commission to negotiate terms, but nothing good happened for cricket.

They were so unimpressed with the security provisions that CA didn’t let their U19 team participate in the 2016 U19 World Cup hosted by Bangladesh.

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