In a shocking turn of events, minutes before the first ODI was set to begin at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium today, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) decided to cancel the series and are now planning to leave the country as soon as possible. 

The tour included three ODIs and five T20Is, with the ODI-leg in Rawalpindi and T20Is scheduled in Lahore, but that is all off the table now as the New Zealand Government in their independent assessment stated that the threat level for Pakistan raised and on New Zealand Cricket (NZC) security advisors advice, the series has been postponed.

NZ Chief Executive expressed his regret over the entire situation but said players' safety is paramount.

"I understand this will be a blow for the PCB, who have been wonderful hosts, but player safety is paramount and we believe this is the only responsible option," NZC chief executive David White said in the statement.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) are left frustrated and the tension was conspicuous in their statement as they claimed that the decision taken by NZC was unilateral and PCB wasn't taken into confidence. It seems as if NZC ignored the safety assurances from the Pakistan government and PCB but the details of the exact reasons behind their decisions to quit the tour are yet to be made public.

"Earlier today, the New Zealand cricket board informed us that they had been alerted to some security alert and have unilaterally decided to postpone the series," said PCB in a press release.

"PCB and Govt of Pakistan made foolproof security arrangements for all visiting teams. We have assured the New Zealand cricket board of the same. The Prime Minister spoke personally to the Prime Minister of New Zealand and informed her that we have one of the best Intelligence systems in the world and that no security threat of any kind exists for the visiting team.

"The security officials with the NZ team have been satisfied with security arrangements made by the Govt of Pakistan throughout their stay here." 

4,000 police staff were deployed to ensure the ODI series between Pakistan and New Zealand is conducted safely at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

"Pakistan has made monumental efforts to get international cricket back on track. We’ve lost a lot with no international cricket for 6 years in the past and today might set us back again. The pulling out and the abrupt timing of the decision is extremely disappointing," tweeted Shan Masood.

PCB allowed 25% crowd presence in the stadium and spectators were supposed to go through metal detectors, biometric checks and walk-through gates. 

The cricket fraternity has flooded social media with their supportive messages vouching for adequate security arrangements in Pakistan and shared their experience of touring the country over the last few years.

After the harrowing attack on the Sri Lanka team in 2009, international cricket has slowly returned to Pakistan and it has taken 18 years for New Zealand to visit Pakistan shores but it is extremely unfortunate to see them leave the country in haste. 

It is pertinent to mention that Pakistan has successfully hosted Sri Lanka, South Africa, West Indies, Zimbabwe and Pakistan Super League seasons incident-free over the years so this development, of course, has certainly set off alarm bells and is a massive blow to the efforts made by PCB and Pakistan government in the realm of resuming international cricket in Pakistan. 

The security agencies have been arranging foolproof security arrangements in the biletaeral series and PSL but now the sudden decision by New Zealand to cancel the tour will cast doubts on upcoming England men's and women's team tours, West Indies as well as Australia tour. 

The New Zealand squad touched down in Islamabad on September 11 and the preparations were in full swing for the ODI series as three training sessions were held ahead of the first ODI.