Ex Pak greats lament isolation from hosting ICC events till 2023

Former Pakistani cricketers have expressed grief over the exclusion of Pakistan as a hosting venue for all ICC events until 2023, saying that the isolation would hurt the sport in the nation.

According to the Express Tribune, Pakistan was not given hosting rights for any of the global events from 2015 to 2023 in ICC's annual conference in London, with India being made hosts for three major tournaments including the 2016 World Twenty20, the 2021 World Test Championship and the 2023 World Cup.

Legendary batsman, Zaheer Abbas said that cricket in the country was also damaged and because cricketers had not been playing in front of the nation, their professionalism was affected, adding that the ground reality showed that law-and-order situation in Pakistan was not improving.

National team coach Mohsin Khan said the isolation was unfair and the ICC should have given options subject to improvement in the next three to four years, with the country's 2018 World Cup qualifying event bid too awarded to Bangladesh.

However, former PCB chief Khalid Mehmood backed ICC's decision, stating that it was a long process to revive international cricket in Pakistan.