COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s
cricket board said on Thursday it will go
ahead with its
tour of
Pakistan despite fears that players could be the target of terror attacks during the six-match visit.Sri
Lanka cricket Secretary Mohan de Silva said they received the all-clear from the defence ministry to leave for
Pakistan on Tuesday.“We have the green light from the defence ministry,” de Silva told AFP. “The
tour is on as we planned. I myself and our office bearers will also be accompanying the team.”Reports last week of a possible terror attack were referred to the defence ministry for investigation. The Sri
Lanka team was the target of an attack during a Test match in Pakistan’s Lahore in March 2009,
with six players injured when gunmen attacked their bus. Six
Pakistan policemen and two civilians were killed. Since the attack, a majority of international teams have refused to
tour the country.Sri Lanka’s first match in Lahore after that was one T20 game against
Pakistan in October 2017. De Silva visited
Pakistan last month along
with a security consultant to check out the arrangements made by the hosts. “They have promised security reserved for
ahead of state,” de Silva said.The six-match tour, due to start on September 27, was put on hold last week after the Sri
Lanka prime minister’s office warned the board it had unspecified information about a possible attack against its players.The
Pakistan cricket Board (PCB) said it was not aware of any information relating to the safety of the Sri Lankan team, but reiterated its commitment to providing security. Ten senior players opted out of the
tour citing security concerns.Sri
Lanka has already announced two squads for the three one-day internationals and the three T20 matches.Match schedule: 1st ODI—Karachi, September 27; 2nd ODI—Karachi, September 29; 3rd ODI—Karachi, October 2; 1st T20 — Lahore, October 5; 2nd T20 — Lahore, October 7; 3rd T20 — Lahore, October 9.
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