England players were left in the dark about Pakistan tour: report

Team England Player Partnership (TEPP) has brushed aside the notion that the English players were the reason behind calling off Pakistan tour.

According to Daily Mail, TEPP also claimed that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) took the decision without the players’ input.

“At no stage has the ECB ever asked Team England Player Partnership or the teams, men and women, whether the tour should go ahead or whether players were prepared to tour Pakistan,” a TEPP spokesperson said. “At no stage has Team England Player Partnership informed the ECB that the players would not be touring,”

“The ECB board met last Sunday to debate the tour to Pakistan. That afternoon we were informed the tour had been cancelled. Team England Player Partnership was not asked for our input and we were not involved in the decision to cancel the tour,” the spokesperson added.

It must be noted that England had withdrawn their men’s and women’s teams from next month’s tour of Pakistan, on Monday, inorder to protect the squad’s "physical and mental well-being".

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The England teams were each scheduled to play two Twenty20 international matches on October 13 and 14 in Rawalpindi, with the women's side due to stay on for a three-match one-day international series from October 17-21.

Before England, New Zealand had also abruptly abandoned their tour of Pakistan, last Friday, citing a security alert, in a massive blow to the South Asian country's hopes of staging regular international cricket.