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Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL

Hours after the New Zealand Cricket board decided to call off its ongoing tour to Pakistan due to security concerns, the England and Wales Cricket Board has said that it is reconsidering its upcoming tour to the Asian nation, taking place next month. England men and women's teams are about to visit Pakistan in October. While the men's team is slated to play 2 T20Is starting October 13, the women's side will play as many matches in the shortest format alongside 3 ODIs.

It should be noted that NZC cited the "security alert" it received ahead of the series opener as the reason behind abandoning the tour. On the other hand, PCB said that it, along with the national government ensured "foolproof security" arrangement for the visiting nation. Notably, an ODI series between the sides was slated to kick off in Rawalpindi on Friday but New Zealand "unilaterally" decided to cancel the games. However, the hosting cricket body was willing to continue.

To make it a series of shocks for PCB, England's upcoming tour to the Asian nation might get cancelled. ECB has informed that it is liaising with its security team which is present in the ground in Pakistan to fathom the overall scenario. The English governing body added that in the next one to two days it would decide whether the tour would go as planned.

ECB to decide on Pakistan tour in next 48 hours

“We’re aware of New Zealand’s decision to pull out of the Pakistan tour due to a security alert...We are liaising with our security team who are on the ground in Pakistan to fully understand the situation," said ECB spokesperson as quoted by Sky Sports.

"The ECB Board will then decide in the next 24-48 hours whether our planned tour should proceed,” it added regarding the tour that is going to take place for the first time in 16 years.

Notably, security officer Reg Dickason, who works with both New Zealand and England, had given a clearance last month to both the sides regarding their respective tours to Pakistan. However, the recent turn of events has forced England to review their decision and the final verdict might go against the interest of PCB.