The Sri Lanka men’s cricket team’s tour of Pakistan is in jeopardy after eight visiting players, from a squad of 16, decided to return home following Tuesday’s suicide bomb blast in the Pakistan capital, Islamabad and resultant concerns over their security, a news report said on Wednesday.
The players have decided to return home on Thursday, just a few hours ahead of the second ODI, Telecom Asia Sport reported.
Sri Lanka Cricket sources told www.telecomasia.net that the players have threatened to skip the ODI series with Pakistan ahead of the second ODI on Thursday in Rawalpindi, which is likely to be postponed.
Although there has been no formal statement from the Sri Lankan board, sources close to the team indicate that initially the players were keen for the team to remain and play all their matches after Pakistan’s authorities assured them of their safety.
The SLC threatened the players with a two-year ban in case they pulled out of the tour, but that did not stop the players from deciding to return home. “Some board members believe that players should be penalised if they break ranks and decide to return without playing,” said sources.
PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi met Sri Lankan players in their Islamabad hotel and assured them of full security arrangements.
After the bilateral series, Sri Lanka are scheduled to take part in a Tri-series also involving the hosts and Zimbabwe, starting on November 19.
PCB sources claimed that in the worst-case scenario, the board can reschedule the tri-series to a later date.
Earlier, there were rumours that the Charith Asalanka-led team was on its way back home following a suicide blast which left 12 people killed and several injured on Tuesday. A terrorist attack at a Cadet Academy in Wana in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Tuesday also raised security concerns. The second and third matches are scheduled for Thursday and Saturday, also in Rawalpindi.
Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi, also the Interior Minister of the country, met Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to Pakistan, Rear Admiral (R) Fred Siriweera, at his office on Wednesday afternoon to remove all fears on security, Telecom Asia Sport reported on Wednesday.
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Sources said the Sri Lankan High Commissioner praised the efforts and showed satisfaction over the arrangements. Though initially the players wanted to continue, they met in the team hotel and later eight of them decided they wanted to return home.
Sri Lanka has a bitter history of being a target of Pakistan. Their team bus was attacked by gunmen near the Gaddafi stadium on March 3, 2009. Seven Sri Lankan players were injured while eight policemen were killed in those attacks.
The tour was abandoned, and international cricket remained suspended in Pakistan until 2015.
Since then, Pakistan has hosted England, South Africa, and New Zealand on multiple occasions, while Australia also toured here in 2022 for the first time in 24 years.–(IANS)
