The Sri Lankan cricket team, which will visit Lahore to play the T20 international on October 29, will be provided security that is normally accorded to a visiting heads of state by the Pakistan government, Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekera said.

“They have guaranteed top security to the team,” Jayasekera said adding that he would accompany the team to Lahore.

“He said Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has made necessary security assessment and it would be safe to go there.

Jayasekera’s comments came as Sri Lanka overlooked the entire band of regulars who had in a letter expressed security concerns in travelling to Lahore.

Instead, a new look team under Thisara Perera, who was part of Septembers World XI squad which played in Lahore, was named.

Sri Lanka will thus become the first big international team to visit Pakistan since the terrorists attacked the island nation in Lahore in 2009.

Several Sri Lankan players suffered injuries and were in severe mental shock from the attack.

Pakistan has been using the UAE venues, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah as their offshore home venue since 2010.

Jayasekera said the tour would be important for bilateral Sri Lanka-Pakistan diplomatic relations.

“We have to remember that Pakistan along with India came to Sri Lanka when Australia and West Indies refused to come here for the 1996 World Cup,” a reference to the joint Indo-Pak team which played in Colombo leading to the World cup jointly hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. 

Source: PTI

-Agencies