Sarfaraz Ahmed, the Pakistan captain, has urged the International Cricket Council to do more to bring cricket back to the country.
Sarfaraz was speaking after Sri Lanka Cricket announced that they would reassess the security situation in Pakistan, ahead of their limited-overs tour of the country at the end of the month. A delegation from Sri Lanka had initially been satisfied with the arrangements the PCB had made for the team’s safety and committed to the tour.
However, on Thursday, September 12, the board revealed the Sri Lanka government had received a fresh security threat that had warned of a possible terrorist attack on the national team. The SLC made the announcement while naming the squads for the tour, which did not include ten senior players, including ODI captain Dimuth Karunaratne and T20I skipper Lasith Malinga, both of whom opted out.
Despite the doubt over the tour, Ehsan Mani, the PCB chairman, said that they were not looking at neutral venues, expressing confidence in Sri Lanka to go ahead with the tour. “Our decision is very clear, and we are not exploring any other neutral venue,” he said. We don’t have the time to shift or look out for any other option right now.
“Our default position is that it is Pakistan’s home series and it will be played in the country. This has been the understanding right from the start, and we are in discussions with the Sri Lanka board and they are also very positive about sending their team.”
Pakistan are set to play three ODIs in Karachi, on September 27, 29 and October 2, and three T20Is in Lahore on October 5, 7 and 9.
