'Hope there is no lasting impact' - Kane Williamson breaks silence on New Zealand's Pakistan tour pull-out

Kane Williamson hopes that New Zealand’s tour cancellation against Pakistan won’t have a lasting impact on cricket in the nation. Notably, tourists New Zealand, who were touring Pakistan fir the first time since 2003, pulled out of the white-ball series hours before the scheduled start of the series on account of security reasons, attracting mixed reactions from the cricketing fraternity.

“They were obviously over there, ready to go to the ground. It is a sudden thing that happened. I certainly hope there is no lasting impact from it because it is a special place for cricket to be and there have been a lot of strides forward to see cricket go back into Pakistan and play there safely. We have seen that happen on a number of occasions, so hopefully, there is plenty more cricket there to come,” Williamson said via Sportstar.

Williamson termed the cancellation a “real shame”, while he stated that he is not aware about the exact details of the events that unfolded there as he is currently in the United Arab Emirates for the ongoing second leg of IPL 2021.

It was a sudden call, but obviously, a real shame: Kane Williamson

“I don’t know the details of yesterday. It was a sudden call, but obviously, a real shame. Cricket in Pakistan is an amazing thing and so well supported. There is so much passion there and I think the guys will be gutted to not have started and playing the whole series. But I am not sure of the details since I am in Dubai for the IPL. I will find out a bit more about it over the next few days.

He further said that given the kind of interest people of Pakistan have, cricket must be played there, like in any other country.

“I certainly hope not. You want to be playing the game in all countries. It is an international game and there is so much passion for it around the world, particularly in Pakistan. It was really exciting to see the series go back there and I know our team was looking forward to it. Players’ safety is paramount and when you hear messages going through from the government, it is certainly above the players’ heads.”