Sri Lanka will go ahead with the Pakistan tour after defense Ministry Thursday gave the green signal to travel the neighbor country for ODI and T20I series, Cricket Age reliably learns.
The Sri Lanka Cricket Board (SLC) on September 12 had written to defence ministry asking for a directive, after revealing that they received a warning that their national team could be the target of a terror attack during the upcoming six-match tour of Pakistan. The board had stated that their Prime Minister’s Office had advised it to “reassess the situation” after it received “reliable information of a possible terrorist threat” against the national squad ahead of the six-match limited overs tour.
The Sri Lanka team was the victim of a militant attack during a Test match in Pakistan’s Lahore in March 2009. Six Sri Lankan players were injured when gunmen attacked their bus while six Pakistan policemen and two civilians were killed.
Since the 2009 attack, a majority of international teams have refused to tour the South Asian country. However, even though 10 senior players have opted out of the tour, Sri Lanka have named a strong team with Lahiru Thirimane and Dasun Shanaka are set to lead ODI and T20I teams respectively.
“We are determined to help Pakistan Cricket Board in bringing back international cricket in the country, as they have always helped us. After government approval, we are happy to go and play some exiting cricket in Pakistan” a senior SLC administrator told Cricket Age.
Sri Lanka and Pakistan are scheduled to play three ODI matches at Karachi National Stadium on September 27, 29 and October 2.
After ODI series, Sri Lanka are scheduled to play three T20I matches on October 5, 7 and 9. Later, Sri Lanka will host Pakistan for two tests in late December.
