India controls world cricket: PM Imran Khan

Prime Minister Imran Khan has expressed his disappointment over England and New Zealand pulling out of Pakistan tours, recently.

In an interview with the Middle East Eye, Khan said that no country would take such a step against India because of the amount of money involved.

“England let itself down. I think that there is still this feeling in England that they do a great favour to play with countries like Pakistan,” said Khan. “One of the reasons is that, obviously, the money.”

“Money is a big player now. For the players, as well as for the cricket boards. The money lies in India, so basically, India controls world cricket now. I mean, they do, whatever they say goes. No one would dare do that to India because they know that the sums involved, India can sort of produce much more money,” he added.

New Zealand had pulled out of the limited-overs tour on the day of the opening fixture in Rawalpindi, last month, citing a New Zealand government security alert.

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Meanwhile, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) cited "increasing concerns about travelling to the region" just days after New Zealand also pulled out of a tour to Pakistan over security concerns.

However, the British High Commissioner to Pakistan, Christian Turner, confirmed the decision was taken by the ECB on the grounds of player welfare.

Pakistan travelled to England last year at a time when Covid-19 infection rates in Britain were among the highest in the world for a three-match Test and T20 series that saved the ECB millions in television rights deals.