As Pakistan's image takes a nosedive, what's next for the cricket-crazy nation under PM Imran Khan?

New Zealand's last-minute withdrawal from the tour of Pakistan caused a devastatingblow to the South Asian nation's hopes of staging regular international cricket tournaments at home, which were suspended in the aftermath of a 2009 terror attack on the Sri Lankan side that wounded atleast six players.

Pakistan's image has taken a nosedive as the abrupt withdrawal is deemed as another era of isolation for Pakistan and a global humiliation, which is quite shocking to witness as the nation is governed by a former cricketing legend Imran Khan. Despite Khan being the Prime Minister of the country, the status of cricket hasn't seen the expected boost.

Now, the New Zealand decision to abandon the tour has posed another mammoth task for Khan and the Pakistan Cricket Board to convince countries for future tours and avoid another period of embarrassing exile.

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On September 17, the grass, the pitch, the atmosphere at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium looked positive from Pakistan's perspective but the narratives changed within minutes as the Kiwis refused to travel to the stadium.

When the toss got delayed, rumours started floating on the social media forums that some players in NZ camp have been tested COVID-19 positive, however, NewZealand Cricket informed that they are abandoning the tour, citing a security alert. The two cricketing giants were to play on September 17 first of three ODIs in Rawalpindi, before moving to Lahore for a five-match T20 series.

In the absence of some frontline players, New Zealand travelled to Pakistan for the first time in 18 years. The Pakistan Cricket Board mentioned that Govt of Pakistan made foolproof security arrangements for all visiting teams and were guarded by a heavy paramilitary and police contingent.

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Pakistani cricketers are angry as ex-cricketer Shoaib Akhtar wrote that New Zealand has "killed Pakistan cricket". PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja was also frustrated as he said that in "which world" is NZ living in and they will hear Pakistan at ICC.

Skipper Babar Azam said that he is "extremely disappointed" with the abrupt postponement of the series, which could have brought the "smiles back" for millions of Pakistan cricket fans.

Now, Raja in a video posted on the board's Twitter handle said that "it's an unfortunate scenario". "But we've faced similar situations in the past and have always overcome them. We've tremendous resilience... it's a setback to staging international cricket in Pakistan but we'll overcome this crisis too," he added.Pakistan have only hosted South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe since the 2009 attacks.

What will happen next as England are already reconsidering their limited-overs trip,while the status of Australia, who are scheduled to visit in February-March next year, remains unclear. ACricket Australia spokesperson said the organisation was monitoring the situation and would "talk with the relevant authorities once more information becomes known".

The question here arises that what's next for the cricket-crazy nation, especially under PM Imran Khan who might understand the feeling of millions of fans.