Sri Lanka’s cricketers are believed to have softened their stance on touring Lahore for the last game of the ongoing bilateral series having previously written to the board asking for a venue change. Forty contracted cricketers had written to SLC indicating their reluctance to travel to Lahore early this week, but events that unfolded after their letter was submitted the board has made players to soften their stances.
Reporting from UAE
Announcement by the International Cricket Council that Match Referee Andy Pycroft will be sent for the Lahore game and a positive report on security in Pakistan have made the player to look at the larger picture. The ICC in a bid to help PCB revive cricket in the country put together a World XI under the captaincy of Francois du Plessis and they played three T-20s in Lahore last month.
That series was a huge success and De Plessis was pleased with the security arrangements. Sri Lanka’s Thisara Perera was part of the World XI side and is believed to be the only contracted player not to sign the letter sent to SLC.
Sri Lanka’s players also have been promised security that is similar to a Head of State. A bullet proof vehicle, clearing the road with no vehicle or human movement when the team is on the move and elite commando protection are said to be some of the measures that are put in place.
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) Ex-Co is set to meet tomorrow (Monday) to discuss the way forward from the issue and the players are expected to tell the board their availability by Monday. The concerns of the players will be discussed on Monday and SLC will also review the security details provided by both the ICC and PCB. SLC is expected to get a feedback from the government as well while doing its’ own security assessment.
SLC has indicated that they will not have one team playing in UAE and another playing in Lahore and the squad chosen for the three match series will play all three games. This takes out the option of pulling out from Lahore leg as they know that if they do so, they are ineligible for the entire series.
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There has been little international cricket in Pakistan since the Sri Lankan team bus came under a terrorist attack on their way to the third day’s play of the second Test at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore injuring several players and support staff eight years ago. Members of the current squad Suranga Lakmal and Chamara Kapugedera were in the team bus when the incident happened. Lakmal was one of the players injured and still carries splinters on his leg and has trouble getting through security at airports as he is stopped by metal detectors. He is also unable to do any MRI scans on his leg.
Following the World XI series, the PCB was confident of gradually brining other teams to the country. Sri Lanka were slotted in for end of October while West Indies are scheduled to play a short series in November.
PCB also intends to play more Pakistan Super League (PSL) matches in the country this time around as the previous editions were largely played in the UAE.
Also read :Pakistan tour; Sri Lankan players assured Presidential level security
Pakistan has been Sri Lanka’s strongest cricket ally having endorsed country’s admission as a Full Member of the ICC in 1970s. Abdul Hafeez Kardar, Pakistan’s first Test captain and later PCB Chairman pushed Sri Lanka’s case aggressively but his efforts weren’t fulfilled as Sri Lanka’s case was continuously vetoed by either Australia or India.
That forced Kardar to form the Asian Cricket Council and initiate the Ali Bhutto Trophy between the Undre-19 teams of both sides. Kardar also awarded scholarships to Sri Lankan coaches like Anuruddha Polonnowita, Abu Fuard and W.A.N. Silva to be trained under Pakistan national coach Khan Mohammad. He also made sure that there were reciprocal tours by the country to play in unofficial Tests.
Sri Lanka won the ICC Trophy in 1979 qualifying for the World Cup that year and it was the icing on the cake for Kardar. During that World Cup, Sri Lanka went onto beat a strong Indian side comprising Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar and other stars and eventually Sri Lanka were granted Test status in 1981 and went onto play their inaugural Test match the next year.
Pakistan was also the first country to invite Sri Lanka to play a Test series after becoming a Full Member. The PCB also sent down players to form the joint India-Pakistan team to play a friendly match in Colombo after Australia and West Indies expressed their concerns of playing their World Cup games in Colombo following the Central Bank Bombing two weeks prior to the commencement of the tournament that killed 93 people.
Australia and West Indies eventually forfeited their games and Sri Lanka went onto win the final in Lahore on March 17th. The support the Sri Lankan team received in Lahore was sensational and at the post match presentation captain Arjuna Ranatunga thanked the people of Pakistan for the support given for his team that night.
Former Pakistan greats Waqar Younis and Inzamam-ul-Haq have urged the Sri Lankan players to tour the country last week as lack of international cricket has adversely affected the nation. None of the current players of Pakistan’s Test squad have played a Test match in Pakistan.
The PCB also has incurred massive losses as their home games are being played in neutral venues such as Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi.
