10 Sri Lankan players opt out of Pakistan tour
What's the story?
As many as ten Sri Lankan players have decided against visiting Pakistan for a limited overs tour scheduled to happen later this month. The likes of Angelo Mathews, Lasith Malinga and Dinesh Chandimal are also amongst the players who have opted out of the Pakistan tour.
The background
The international teams had stopped touring Pakistan after the terrorist attacks on the Sri Lankan team that had happened in 2009. This forced Pakistan to move its home base to the United Arab Emirates.
However, the Pakistan Cricket Board improved the security in the country to restart international cricket. The teams of Zimbabwe, West Indies and ICC World XI had visited Pakistan to play T20I series. The Pakistan board even allotted some matches of the Pakistan Super League to local stadiums so as to bring foreign cricketers to the country.
The heart of the matter
Recently, it was announced that the Sri Lankan cricket team will tour Pakistan to play a 3-match T20I series and a 3-match ODI series. Since the Sri Lankan team was busy playing against New Zealand, the squad announcement for the Pakistan series was postponed.
T20I skipper Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal, Suranga Lakmal, Dimuth Karunaratne, Thisara Perera, Akila Dhananjaya, Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Perera and Niroshan Dickwella decided against touring the home of the Men in Green.
SLC said in their statement:
"Former Sri Lanka Air Force Commander Marshal Air Roshan Goonetileke, who is the Chief Security Advisor of the SLC, briefed the players about the security situation in Pakistan and the security arrangements PCB plans on implementing during Sri Lanka team's tour of that country, whilst Chairman of the National Selection Panel Mr. Asantha De Mel explained about the selection policy for future tours."
The players were given full freedom to decide whether to visit Pakistan or not and the aforementioned players exercised their right of staying at home.
What's next?
The ODI series between Sri Lanka and Pakistan will begin from 27th September in Karachi.
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