As many as ten major Sri Lankan players have opted out of Sri Lanka’s Pakistan tour citing security reasons. The list includes ODI captain Dimuth Karunaratne & T20 captain Lasith Malinga.
Officials of the Sri Lankan Cricket board said that players were informed about the security arrangements for the series. This was followed by 10 players informing the board that they choose to stay away from the same. The list includes Lasith Malinga, Dimuth Karunaratne, Thisara Perera, Angelo Mathews, Niroshan Dickwella, Kusal Perera, Dhananjaya de Silva, Akila Dananjaya, Suranga Lakmal, and Dinesh Chandimal.
The memories of the ghastly 2009 terror attack on the Sri Lankan team bus are still fresh in the minds of the cricketing fraternity. That attack left eight people dead and seven Sri Lanka players and staff injured. While Pakistan has remained in isolation since then with teams refusing to tour there, its unstable nature still does not motivate visitors.
This series was seen as a way of reviving international cricket in the country but it has run into problems. The series includes three One-Day Internationals and three T20 games, scheduled to begin on September 27 in Karachi. Sri Lanka is also to play two Test matches but the dates and the venue are yet to be announced. Lahiru Thirimanne & Dasun Shanaka are set to lead the Sri Lankan ODI & T20 teams respectively.
