Former Australian cricketer Dean Jones bashes 'hypocrite' teams for not touring Pakistan

It was not long ago when most of the cricket pundits rejected to consider Pakistan as a formidable team. However, after the recent massive turnaround in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, they are being considered as a force to reckon. Pakistani cricket team has, after a long time, showed what they truly are capable of. Sarfraz Ahmed and his men have fought bravely in the recently concluded ‘mini World Cup’ and got their hands on it for the first time.

Though Pakistan’s on-field performance might have undergone a great overhaul, the off-the-field problems are quite unending for them. The major problem that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is dealing at the moment is facing rejection from many teams to tour their country. Earlier this year, PCB had a meeting with their Afghanistan counterparts and it was agreed that they would tour Pakistan.

But three days later, an unfortunate incident happened in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul. Following the bomb blast incident, ACB snapped all sorts of cricketing ties with Pakistan and even termed them as a country where terrorists are provided “safe haven”.

However, former Australian cricketer Dean Jones has slammed the teams and termed them as hypocrites for not touring Pakistan. According to him, if a team can play in London even after blasts, then there should not be any reason to avoid Pakistan. “In recent times, there were quite a few terrorist attacks in Europe including London and sporting events are going on as usual. But teams refuse to travel to Pakistan. The hypocrisy is overwhelming!” said the fuming Islamabad United coach while speaking to Deccan Chronicle.

Praising the Pakistan Super League(PSL), the legendary cricketer said “In last two-three years, there is so much improvement in Pakistan cricket. The Pakistan Super League has transformed them into a professional unit. The Champions Trophy success can also be attributed to the players who emerged through PSL.”

Jones wants Indo-Pak Test series

Among the many countries who are trying to avoid touring Pakistan is their neighbour India. Not only that, but the BCCI even ignored the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which stated that the men in blue will play six series against the green shirts within a span of eight years. Jones wants India to play against Pakistan to justify their Numero Uno title.

“I’m a firm believer that there is no such thing called No.1 side in cricket. India became the ‘No.1 Test’ side without facing Pakistan. I would love to see the two teams play in a Test series,” he concluded.