British High Commission did not advise ECB to pull out of Pakistan tour

Christian Turner says his office did not warn against travelling for the matches in Rawalpindi originally scheduled for next month

England unable to give Pakistan guarantees over 2022 tour as PCB chairman Ramiz Raja rages: "We were used, and then we were binned"

England call off tours of Pakistan in wake of New Zealand's withdrawal over security concerns

The England and Wales Cricket were not advised to withdraw their men and women's teams from next month's Pakistan white-ball tour on security grounds.

In a video statement posted on Twitter, British High Commissioner Christian Turner says the decision was solely based on player welfare.

On Monday (September 20) the ECB cited the "mental and physical well-being of our players and support staff" and "increasing concerns about travelling to the region" while outlining the reasons for the decision.

The move came after New Zealand pulled their men out of their own eight-match tour hours before the first one-day international following a credible threat made against them.

Aakhir main jeet cricket kee hogee #PakVsEng@iramizraja @TheRealPCB pic.twitter.com/JNgOMcuD7Q

— Christian Turner (@CTurnerFCDO) September 21, 2021

But the ECB made no reference to any specific alert and the PCB claim to have received no additional information.

It is a major setback for Pakistan who only resumed playing Test cricket at home in 2019, 10 years on from the Lahore shootings involving the Sri Lanka team bus.

Both England teams were due to play T20 double-headers on October 13 and 14, with the women staying on for a three-match one-day international series.

While England men have not toured Pakistan since 2006 and a women's side has never played a competitive fixture in the country.

^{PCB chairman Ramiz Raja is fuming regarding the double pull-out}

"This was a decision made by the ECB, which is independent of the British government, based on concerns for player welfare," said Turner, who helps maintain diplomatic relations between the UK and Pakistan while based in Islamabad.

"The British High Commission supported the tour; did not advise against it on security grounds and our travel advice for Pakistan has not changed."

England men are due in Pakistan in 2022 but are yet to give guarantees over fulfilling the tour.

Turner, who was deputy national security adviser during Theresa May's tenure as British prime minister, added: "I have been a champion of international cricket's return to Pakistan and will redouble my efforts in advance of England's autumn 2022 tour."