Reports | Continued refusal of senior Sri Lankan players to tour Pakistan worries PCB
The continued refusal of senior Sri Lankan players including captain Dimuth Karunaratne, Lasith Malinga and Angelo Matthews to tour Pakistan has left the PCB authorities worried. It is understood that the family members of the players have reservations about the security measures in the country.
Sri Lanka are set to tour Pakistan for a limited-overs series with three ODIs and three T20Is later this month. It would be the first time in 10 years that a top team will be in Pakistan for more than two weeks. The Sri Lankan team had come down to Lahore for a day to play a lone T20 match in October 2017 while the ICC World XI and West Indies have also played a short T20 series in Pakistan in the last two years.
But after rejecting the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) invitation to play two ICC Test Championship matches, the two boards came into agreement on the venue for the limited-overs series. It is learnt that the Sri Lankans are set to review the security arrangements for the coming limited-overs series and based on their findings they will then make a decision on whether to play the Tests in December in Pakistan or in the UAE.
However, media reports have claimed that Test and ODI captain Karunaratne, T20 captain Malinga and senior pro, Matthews have informed the Sri Lankan board they will not tour Pakistan because of security concerns. The families of the three players are understandably uncomfortable with the prospect of them playing in Pakistan, citing the incident in March 2009 when terrorists attacked the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore, leading to Pakistan’s isolation as an international cricket destination.
The PCB offered no official comment on the senior Sri Lanka players’ availability, but sources in the board said they are in touch with the Sri Lankan board officials and Sports Minister Harin Fernando.
“Technically it is an internal matter of the Sri Lankan board so we can’t comment on it. But the bottom line is that the tour is on from 25th September and we are making all preparations to host the matches in Karachi and Lahore,” an official source told PTI.
The Sri Lankan Sports Minister has called the three players for a meeting on Monday to assure them of the full security arrangements for the tour. However, it is obvious that neither the Minister nor the Sri Lankan board can force any player to join the tour. The PCB source added that Pakistan would accept whatever team the Sri Lankan board sends for the series starting from September 25.
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