Sri Lanka Cricket Board confirms series with Pakistan will go ahead as planned

ISLAMABAD: The Sri Lankan Cricket Board (SLC) has confirmed that the national team will continue its ongoing tour of Pakistan as scheduled.

In a statement, the SLC said the bilateral series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka will go ahead as planned, following assurances of full security provided by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Cahirman and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi.

The board stated that if any player insists on returning home despite the directive to continue, replacement players will be sent to Pakistan to ensure the series proceeds without disruption.

Arrangements have been made to dispatch substitute players to Pakistan if needed, the SLC added.

In a tweet, Naqvi said, “Grateful to the Sri Lankan team for their decision to continue the Pakistan tour. The spirit of sportsmanship and solidarity shines bright. The ODI matches between Pakistan and Sri Lanka will be played on 14th and 16th November in Rawalpindi.”

Earlier, Mohsin Naqvi assured Sri Lankan cricket players of foolproof security after the visiting team reportedly requested to return home midway through their Pakistan tour.

The interior minister, accompanied by the Islamabad police chief and the city commissioner, met the Sri Lankan team in Islamabad and assured them of a safe and secure environment.

Earlier, Naqvi also met with the Sri Lankan High Commissioner, who expressed satisfaction over the security arrangements made for the visiting team.

Reports had earlier suggested that the Sri Lankan team had sought to cut short their Pakistan tour. However, the Sri Lanka Cricket Board instructed the players to complete the series, warning that those abandoning it midway would face a two-year ban.

The second match of the three-match ODI series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka is scheduled to be played tomorrow in Rawalpindi.

A day earlier, a suicide blast at the G-11 district and sessions court in Islamabad left 12 people dead and 36 injured.

It is worth mentioning that international cricket teams touring Pakistan are provided with presidential-level security ever since the sport’s return to the country after a decade-long hiatus. Notably, Sri Lanka was the last foreign team to tour Pakistan in 2009 before international cricket came to a halt, following a terrorist attack on the visiting team in Lahore. The harrowing scenes of Sri Lankan players being airlifted from the Gaddafi Stadium remain etched in the memories of cricket fans, marking one of the darkest days in Pakistan’s sporting history.