Gladiators owner suggests holding exhibition matches in Pindi after NZ fiasco

• Quetta Gladiator owner suggests holding exhibition matches at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium - the venue for the ODI series with New Zealand. 
• Tells all PSL teams to stand by the PCB at this crucial time to give a strong message to the world. 
• At the same time, such a cricketing activity will be for cricket fans who will draw satisfaction from something happening, he said. 

The owner of the Quetta Gladiators has proposed holding exhibition matches of all franchises of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) to give a strong message to the world that Pakistan is a safe country for sports.

The owner of the PSL franchise said this hours after New Zealand backed out from the much-awaited cricket series on Pakistani soil. The visitors cancelled the tours just moments before the ODI series opener at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

"We need to stand by the Pakistan Cricket Board at this juncture," Nadeem Omar said, while speaking to a private news channel.

"QG owner Nadeem Omar has said Quetta Gladiators are ready to play exhibition matches in Pakistan to send a strong message to the world that Pakistan is safe," the Twitter handle of the Quetta Gladiators said.

"He added QG will try to bring available foreigners and hope the PCB and other franchises will be thinking on the same lines," it further quoted him as saying.

Omar said all other PSL teams should hold matches at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium under the same security provided to the New Zealand cricket team. The matches should be held to convey a good message, he said.

Sports are a part of the image of a country and the honour of a country is of paramount importance, Nadeem Omar said. "We should stand for our rights not only for cricket but on other matters as well," he stressed.

"We need to make every move in a very calculated way as the evolving situation in Afghanistan reflects that we have a few friends and many enemies."

Reacting to his tweet, some cricket fans appreciated his proposals. 

On Friday, moments before the ODI series opener at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, the New Zealand Cricket (NZC) board backed out of the much-awaited tour, citing a security alert from their government. The Pakistani authorities assured the team of complete security but they insisted on calling off the series.

The PCB in a statement said the NZC informed them that they had decided to cancel the series due to some security concern and said it is their unilateral decision.