'Fed up' with stringent security, Sri Lanka hesitant to travel to Pakistan for series in the future

Despite a successful tour to Pakistan recently for an ODI and T20I series, Sri Lanka are hesitant to travel to the country again anytime soon, as the stringent security measures in place meant that the players were stuck in the team hotel throughout their stay.

Sri Lanka Cricket President Shammi Silva harped on the cons of staying confined within the hotel rooms after practice sessions or on off-days, saying the players got "fed up" by the end.

"Players had to stay inside their hotel. I was there and though I stayed for 3-4 days, I got fed up (about it). We have to think about that and discuss with the players and support staff. We are playing the Test Championship and we want to do well in that too," he stated.

Though he did talk about how staying together improved the team's bonding, he was quick to point out the disadvantages, which outnumbered the positives in this case.

"Frankly in my opinion, it was good team bonding when they are staying in the hotel without their wives. Too much of freedom is also bad for the players. But, they have to go out to do shopping, they have to eat somewhere, all those things are there. They have to go out and see the world. They can't stay inside the hotel."

The visitors, having lost the ODI series 0-2 scripted a strong comeback in the shortest format, defeating the number one ranked Pakistan 0-3. Silva added that travelling to the venue on match days was exhausting due to the security measures, and teams might find it tough to play Test matches in Pakistan.

"We have to reassess and see about Test matches. We owed something to Pakistan because they are there for us, because they always helped us. We were willing to bear that up (security hassle), but the problem is how much we could bear?

He ended by remarking,

I heard security there is getting better. I don't know because we were not allowed to go out, so may be by next year we might suddenly see Australia or England come and play."

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