Australia batsman Usman Khawaja has expressed his disappointment at New Zealand and England recently abandoning their tours of Pakistan, saying that financial reasons may have played part in those decisions. The 34-year-old cricketer added that he would have no qualms about touring to Pakistan, the country of his birth, with Australia scheduled to travel there after the Ashes. “I feel it’s very easy for players and organisations to say no to Pakistan, because it’s Pakistan,” Khawaja was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

“I think the same thing would apply too, if it were Bangladesh. But nobody would say no to India, if they’re in the same situation,” he added.

“Money talks, we all know that, and that’s probably a big part of it. They keep proving time and time again through their tournaments that they’re a safe place to play cricket. I think there’s no reason why we shouldn’t go back,” Khawaja elaborated.

“There’s a lot of security. Heavy, heavy security,” he said of the security concerns about Pakistan.

“I’ve heard nothing but reports about people feeling safe. Even talking to the guys during the PSL about what it’s like…they would say the same thing to me ‘like 10 years ago, maybe not, but now 100 per cent’.”

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New Zealand had pulled out of their limited-overs tour of Pakistan last week citing security concerns. They pulled out of the tour on the day of the opening ODI in Rawalpindi.

England followed suit a few days later and pulled the plug on tours to the South Asian country by both their men’s and women’s teams.