Several Sri Lankan cricketers asked to return home from their Pakistan tour on Wednesday over safety concerns following a suicide bombing in Islamabad. However, the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) board issued a strict directive ordering the squad to remain in Pakistan or face consequences.
Sri Lanka are currently in Pakistan for three ODIs and a T20 tri-series featuring Zimbabwe. The second ODI is scheduled for Thursday in Rawalpindi, close to Islamabad, where the bombing killed 12 people.
According to an SLC statement, some players expressed a desire to leave after the attack. The board said it had “immediately engaged with the players” and assured them that their concerns were being addressed in coordination with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and local authorities.
TOLD TO CONTINUE THE TOUR
SLC said all players, support staff, and team management have been instructed to continue the tour as planned. Anyone choosing to leave will be replaced to avoid disruption, and their actions will undergo a formal review afterward.
The board did not specify how many players or staff had asked to return home.
ODI SERIES TO PROCEED
PCB chairman and federal interior minister Mohsin Naqvi confirmed that the remaining two ODIs will be played on Friday and Sunday in Rawalpindi. He thanked Sri Lanka for agreeing to continue the tour, calling it a sign of “sportsmanship and solidarity.”
Pakistan has long struggled to attract visiting teams after the 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore, which halted international cricket in the country for years. Security improvements have since allowed top-level cricket to resume, with Sri Lanka returning for a Test tour in 2019.
Pakistan currently lead the ODI series 1–0 after winning Tuesday’s opening match in Rawalpindi by six runs.
