Niroshan Dickwella, who opted out of the tour of Pakistan later this month, has been denied a No Objection Certificate by Sri Lanka Cricket, to play in the Caribbean Premier League which commenced on the 4th of September.
Possible terrorist threat on the Sri Lankan team in Pakistan
Sri Lanka Cricket today sought the assistance of the Sri Lankan Government to conduct a ‘Reassessment’
All-rounder Thisara Perera, who has already played 2 T20s for St Lucia Zouks in this year’s CPL, has also reportedly been asked to return to the island before the 15th of September for the practices with the national squad. Though Perera captained the visiting Sri Lanka T20I squad to Pakistan in 2017, he also opted out of the tour to Pakistan this time around where 3 ODIs and T20Is were scheduled to be played across 13 days in Karachi and Lahore.
Speaking on the situation, SLC CEO Ashley de Silva revealed that as a policy, a player would not be granted an NOC to play in a foreign league, if he or she withdraws from national commitments voluntarily.
De Silva, quoted on ESPNCricinfo, said, “It’s our policy not to give NOCs when there is a national tour, and the players would have known that, so Dickwella has not been granted a NOC and will be expected to train with the national team in the next few weeks. We have also asked Thisara to return to the country on September 15, so he can also join the team in training.”
Top Sri Lankan players boycott Pakistan tour
Apart from Dickwella and Perera, Kusal Janith Perera, Dhananjaya De Silva, Akila Dhananjaya, Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Suranga Lakmal, Dinesh Chandimal and Dimuth Karunaratne are the other players who have opted out of the tour.
As these players were reluctant to tour, Sri Lanka Cricket recently named ODI and T20I squads which will be touring Pakistan later this month. But less than a day after that announcement, Sri Lanka Cricket is reported to have received a warning from the Prime Minister’s Office on information of a possible terrorist threat on the Sri Lankan team, while touring Pakistan. Taking this into consideration, SLC are reportedly looking to reassess the security in Pakistan and make a decision on whether the tour is to go ahead.
