Sport | Cricket

Ex-army chief on mission to protect team

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) have appointed a former head of the country's army as their security consultant following the attack on the team in Lahore in March ahead of a test match against Pakistan.

  • Reuters
  • Published: 22:51 May 7, 2009
  • Gulf News

Chennai: Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) have appointed a former head of the country's army as their security consultant following the attack on the team in Lahore in March ahead of a test match against Pakistan.

Six Sri Lankan players and a coach were wounded when heavily armed men attacked the team bus heading into the stadium during the second test.

"After the sequence of unfortunate incidents the Sri Lankan team had to face, it is imperative that Sri Lanka Cricket [is] well equipped ... to prevent such actions from taking place in the future," SLC said on their website.

SLC said Major General Lawrence Fernando, who had been the Chief of Staff for the Army when he retired, would oversee security for all inbound and outbound tours, local venues and the head office of the organisation.

Security concerns around global sporting events in south Asia have intensified since the Lahore attack, and the International Cricket Council subsequently stripped Pakistan as co-host of the 2011 World Cup due to instability in that country.

The Twenty20 World Cup in Britain will be Sri Lanka's first overseas tour since the attack in Lahore.

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