LAHORE: Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) chairman Wilson Manase has declared Pakistan ‘safe’ for international cricket after two matches of the five-game tour and urged Test-playing nations to revisit their decision to shun the country.

Pakistan managed to coax Zimbabwe into touring the country for a limited overs series, though ZC back-flipped on the decision before finally agreeing to send a team.

Manase said he was given the green light for the tour from Zimbabwe defence officials and was happy with the security cover after both T20s passed without trouble.

“I would like to indicate to the world — especially the Test-playing nations — that Pakistan is a safe country to play cricket,” Manase told a website. “We need to encourage members of the ICC to re-look at the position of not visiting Pakistan, and if they are watching how things have gone, they would realise that Pakistan, in the quest to have teams visit, have done great work to create an environment where cricket can be played safely.”

Read: Zimbabweans shrug off security fears, gear up for competitive cricket

Manase was happy with the large crowds. “They are watching that the grounds are so full, they are watching the security given by the government and have understood Pakistan have the capacity to take any measures for the visiting team,” he said. “I will brief them in the upcoming ICC meeting in Barbados.”

Manase denied there was any reluctance in the Zimbabwe squad.

“I can tell you that players were never reluctant. They were always ready to go, we never had any dissent within. All players who were selected did come. We are safe, the players are safe and there is no problem.”

Published in Dawn, May 27th, 2015

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