8 Sri Lankan players set to return home from Pakistan due to safety concerns

Colombo: Eight Sri Lankan players currently touring Pakistan with the national team for a three-match ODI series want to return home due to security concerns following a deadly bomb blast in Islamabad that left 12 people dead and several injured.

The two teams are scheduled to clash in the second ODI of the three-match series in Rawalpindi on Thursday and the development raises doubts on whether the game would go ahead as scheduled.

Sri Lanka Cricket acknowledged the request from the players in a statement but said that for time being, it has instructed them and the support staff travelling with the team to continue with the tour as planned.

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“Following this development the SLC immediately engaged with the players and assured them that all such concerns are being duly addressed in close consultation with the Pakistan cricket board and the relevant authorities to ensure the safety and well-being of every member of the touring party,” the statement said.

Pakistan had won the first ODI by six runs at the same venue on Tuesday.

The Sri Lankan team is also scheduled to play a triangular series, involving the hosts and Zimbabwe, after the three ODIs.

SLC sources said replacements will be sent for players who insist on returning home. Sources in the Pakistan Cricket Board also confirmed the apprehensions of the touring players.

“It is not a good situation for Pakistan cricket because the players were given the option of wanting to stay and complete the tour or return home by the Sri Lankan board after the Sri Lankan High Commissioner met the Chairman of the PCB and Federal Interior Minister, Mohsin Naqvi and other government officials for a security briefing,” a source close to the developments said.

“These players took the option of returning home,” the source added.

However, given the SLC’s insistence, none of the eight members have as yet returned.

Sources in SLC added that the players are concerned because of Rawalpindi’s the proximity to Islamabad.

Security beefed up

Security has been beefed up for the Lankans following the terror attacks in Islamabad and Wana with the island nation’s High Commissioner also given the assurance that the touring players are being treated as “state guests”.

The security issue was taken up at a meeting between the Sri Lankan High Commissioner, Admiral (retired) Fred Seneviratne, Naqvi and other Pakistan government officials in Islamabad.

Sources said that Naqvi had also met officials of the Sri Lankan team and assured them of fool-proof security.

“Security has been beefed up with Pakistan Army and the paramilitary rangers now deputed to monitor the visiting players and officials,” the source said.

In 2009, the Sri Lankan cricket team bus was attacked by gunmen when it was on its way to the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore for the second Test.

Several members of the team, including Ajantha Mendis, Chaminda Vaas and captain Mahela Jayawardene, were injured while Pakistani security personnel were killed.

Following the deadly attack, all foreign teams refrained from visiting Pakistan for over a decade and the country was compelled to use offshore venues in the UAE and Dubai to host its home matches.

Coincidentally it was Sri Lanka’s tour of Pakistan in December 2019 which signalled the return of international cricket to the country.

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