Sri Lanka Cricket on Tuesday turned down an invitation by Pakistan to return to the troubled nation, saying security was still a problem two years after its players were attacked there.
“We are not going to send our team to Pakistan,” Sri Lanka Cricket chairman D.S. de Silva told AFP. “I have asked the secretary to inform the Pakistan Cricket Board today (Tuesday) of the decision.
“We have instead requested Pakistan to host the matches in Colombo or at a neutral venue like Dubai or Abu Dhabi,” he said.
The Pakistan Cricket Board announced at the weekend that they had invited Sri Lanka to play three Tests, five one-day internationals and one Twenty20 game in a series proposed for October.
“The circumstances, with regards to security, don’t allow us to play matches there. Even the ICC (International Cricket Council) has not given us security clearance,” de Silva said.
Sri Lanka ex-skipper Mahela Jayawardene told the London-based Guardian newspaper on Tuesday that he still carries scars from the attack in Lahore in which militants shot at the Sri Lankan team bus in March 2009.
Eight people were killed and seven Sri Lankan players were wounded, including their assistant coach.
“I still get flashbacks,” he told the Guardian. “At first, the guys were saying, ‘Why would anyone let off crackers at eight in the morning?’ But then someone shouted: ‘No, they’re shooting at us, get down.’”
Sri Lanka Cricket secretary Nishantha Ranatunga had reacted cautiously on Monday to the invitation, saying they were awaiting clearance from Sri Lankan security authorities before responding.
Pakistan have been forced to play “home” series in the United Arab Emirates, England and New Zealand.
On Monday, Afghanistan became the first foreign squad to arrive in Pakistan since the attack on the Sri Lankan players. The Afghans will take on a second-string Pakistani national team in a three-match series.
