Some Sri Lanka cricketers requested to return home from their Pakistan tour on Wednesday for safety reasons after a suicide bombing in Islamabad, but their board issued a stern directive to stay put or face consequences.
Sri Lanka are touring Pakistan, playing three one-day internationals followed by a Twenty20 tri-series along with Zimbabwe this month. Sri Lanka were scheduled to play Pakistan in the second ODI on Thursday in Rawalpindi.
But the bombing, which killed 12 people in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, made several Sri Lankan players ask to go home, the Sri Lanka Cricket board said in a statement.
Rawalpindi and Islamabad are twin cities hardly 20 km (12 miles) apart.
“SLC immediately engaged with the players and assured them that all such concerns are being duly addressed in close coordination with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the relevant authorities to ensure the safety and well-being of every member of the touring party,” the SLC said.
‘CONTINUE WITH THE TOUR AS SCHEDULED’
“In this context, SLC has instructed all players, support staff and team management to continue with the tour as scheduled,” SLC added.
Any player who returns despite the directive will be replaced immediately to avoid disrupting the tour, it said.
If anyone does that, however, “a formal review will be conducted to assess their actions, and an appropriate decision will be made upon the conclusion of the review.”
SLC did not respond to a question on the number of players and staff who requested to return home.
ODI MATCHES TO GO AHEAD
PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the federal interior minister, said the last two ODIs of the three-match series would be played on Friday and Sunday in Rawalpindi.
“Grateful to the Sri Lankan team for their decision to continue the Pakistan tour. The spirit of sportsmanship and solidarity shines bright,” he wrote on X.
Pakistan had been struggling to convince sports teams to visit the country after gunmen attacked a bus carrying touring Sri Lanka cricket players in the city of Lahore in 2009.
At least six players were injured, and visits by international teams came to a halt as Pakistan played their “home” matches in the United Arab Emirates.
But security has improved since then in major urban centres and test cricket returned when Sri Lanka toured in 2019.
In this series, Pakistan won the first ODI, which was also held in Rawalpindi, by six runs on Tuesday.
(REUTERS)
