ECB's decision follows New Zealand Cricket's abandonment of the Pakistan tour minutes before the first ODI due to security concerns.
England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Monday, September 20 that the England men's and women's teams will not be going to Pakistan for their respective tours in October. The ECB confirmed that they have 'reluctantly' pulled out from their tours to Pakistan next month.
This comes a few days after New Zealand Cricket (NZC) had cancelled their limited-overs tour of Pakistan minutes before the first ODI after they received a security threat alert from their government on the morning of the game.
ECB in a statement said that given the environment with the bubbles, playing in Pakistan in the current situation with the aforementioned concerns won't be an ideal preparation for the men's team especially for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
"The ECB Board convened this weekend to discuss these extra England Women's and Men's games in Pakistan and we can confirm that the Board has reluctantly decided to withdraw both teams from the October trip.
"The mental and physical well-being of our players and support staff remains our highest priority and this is even more critical given the times we are currently living in. We know there are increasing concerns about travelling to the region and believe that going ahead will add further pressure to a playing group who have already coped with a long period of operating in restricted Covid environments.
"There is the added complexity for our Men's T20 squad. We believe that touring under these conditions will not be ideal preparation for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, where performing well remains a top priority for 2021," the ECB release further added.
ECB sincerely apologised for withdrawing from the tour and the impact it will have on Pakistan Cricket and thanked PCB for supporting English and Welsh Cricket in the last two years by touring the country.
England were supposed to play two T20Is in Pakistan on October 13 and 14 as part of their preparation for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup.
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