5 tours affected by security concerns
Security issues have hurt sport multiple times and cricket is no exception. With individuals and the respective cricket boards prioritising safety over sport – and understandably so – numerous tours have been affected, including high-profile and global tournaments. Most famously, the ICC Champions Trophy 2008, originally scheduled for Pakistan, was shifted to South Africa the following year while the 2011 World Cup, where Pakistan were the co-hosts, was also hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh only, who were also handed over the hosting rights initially.
Sportskeeda revisits some of the tours or tournaments which were interrupted by the harshness of either political turmoil or terrorism.
#5 2003 World Cup: South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya
Cricket’s biggest tournament had made its way to the African continent for the first time in 28 years of its history, jointly given to South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya. However, the global event also found its way into unwanted news when England refused to play their match against Zimbabwe in Harare. What prompted that decision from the visitors was the repeated social unrest and even death threats, with one organization even threatening them with words like, “Come to Harare and you will die”.
At the same time, New Zealand did not travel to the Kenyan capital Nairobi to play the hosts, citing terror threats. Both matches were walkover victories for the respective host nations, with Kenya eventually making it to the semi-final of the tournament, where they lost to India.