Sri Lanka’s cricket squad arrived in Pakistan on Tuesday for limited-over series, with the Pakistani government promising to offer it the same level of security as a head of state.
The squad arrived in Karachi’s southern port town, which on Sept. 27, 29 and Oct. 2 will host three one-day internationals.
Those will be followed by three Twenty20s in Lahore – the city where terrorists attacked the Sri Lankan team bus in 2009.
The current tour also looked in doubt after the Sri Lankan cricket board said it had been warned by its government about a possible security threat.
📸 Arrival of Sri Lanka team at Karachi for ODI & T20I series against Pakistan! #PAKvSL pic.twitter.com/FinGhRt3bX
— Sri Lanka Cricket 🇱🇰 (@OfficialSLC) September 24, 2019
But the tour finally got the go-ahead from the SLC after Pakistan’s government promised that the army would coordinate the security over the two-week-long visit.
However, 10 of Sri Lanka’s top players – including ODI captain Dimuth Karunaratne and Twenty20 skipper Lasith Malinga – have opted out of the tour due to security concerns.
Major teams have avoided Pakistan since that ambush, which killed eight people and injured several players.
Over the previous four years, Pakistan has successfully hosted Zimbabwe, the West Indies, Sri Lanka, and a World XI limited-over matches in the midst of intense security as it attempts to win back foreign teams’ trust to restart full-fledged international cricket at home.
This Sri Lanka tour will be the first time since 2009 that a foreign team stays in Pakistan for two weeks.
