Sri Lanka players decide to stay for Pakistan series

Dubai: All Sri Lankan players will remain in Pakistan to complete the ongoing one-day international (ODI) series and the upcoming T20 tri-series, the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) board confirmed on Thursday. All matches will now take place in Rawalpindi.

At least eight players had earlier expressed a desire to return home due to security concerns following Tuesday’s suicide bombing in Islamabad, which killed 12 people and injured 27.

SLC stated that the decision to continue the tour — featuring Pakistan and Zimbabwe in the tri-series — was made after “close consultations” with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), which provided renewed security assurances. The board had also warned that players attempting to leave could face disciplinary action.

“We had prepared replacements to continue the tournament if needed, but since the squad has agreed to stay, no substitutes will be sent,” an SLC official told AFP.

All tri-series fixtures will now be held in Rawalpindi, adjacent to Islamabad, under strict security. Initially, four of the six round-robin games and the final were scheduled for Lahore. The ODI series, already based in Rawalpindi, has also been slightly rescheduled: the second match was delayed by a day to Friday, and the third will now be played on Sunday.

The T20 tri-series, which was originally set to start on Monday, will begin on Tuesday, with the final now taking place on November 29.

PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi thanked Sri Lanka for continuing the tour, saying on social media, “Grateful to the Sri Lankan team for their decision to continue the Pakistan tour. The spirit of sportsmanship and solidarity shines bright.”

The incident has revived memories of the 2009 Lahore attack, when six Sri Lankan players were injured after gunmen targeted their team bus en route to Gaddafi Stadium. That event led to international cricket’s long absence from Pakistan.

Pakistan had defeated Sri Lanka by six runs in the first ODI in Rawalpindi on Tuesday, a match that went ahead despite the Islamabad bombing. In response to the attack, the PCB confirmed that security around the Sri Lankan team has been further tightened.

Naqvi met with the Sri Lankan players at their Islamabad hotel on Wednesday to personally reassure them, while Sri Lankan officials said the number of guards assigned to the squad has been doubled.