News Desk
\nCOLOMBO
\nSri Lanka\u2019s cricket board Thursday said it will go ahead with its tour of Pakistan.
\nSri Lanka Cricket Secretary Mohan de Silva said they received the all-clear from the defence ministry to leave for Pakistan on Tuesday.
\n\u201cWe have the green light from the defence ministry,\u201d de Silva told AFP.
\n\u201cThe tour is on as we planned. I myself and our office bearers will also be accompanying the team.\u201d
\nReports last week of a possible terror attack were referred to the defence ministry for investigation.
\nThe Sri Lanka team was the target of an attack during a Test match in Pakistan\u2019s Lahore in March 2009, with six players injured when gunmen attacked their bus.
\nSince the attack, a majority of international teams have refused to tour the South Asian country.
\nSri Lanka\u2019s first match in Lahore after that was one T20 game against Pakistan in October 2017.
\nDe Silva visited Pakistan last month along with a security consultant to check out the arrangements made by the hosts.
\n\u201cThey have promised security reserved for a head of state,\u201d de Silva said.
\nThe six-match tour, due to start on September 27, was put on hold last week after the Sri Lanka prime minister\u2019s office warned the board it had unspecified information about a possible attack against its players.
\nThe Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said it was not aware of any information relating to the safety of the Sri Lankan team, but reiterated its commitment to providing security.
\nTen senior players opted out of the tour citing security concerns.
\nSri Lanka has already announced two squads for the three one-day internationals and the three T20 matches.
\nPakistan and Sri Lanka are scheduled to play three ODI matches at Karachi\u2019s National Stadium on September 27, 29 and October 2. Three T20Is will take place at Lahore\u2019s Gaddafi Stadium on October 5, 7 and 9.
\nSri Lanka will host Pakistan for two World Test Championships in late December.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
News Desk COLOMBO Sri Lanka\u2019s cricket board Thursday said it will go ahead with its tour of Pakistan. Sri Lanka Cricket Secretary Mohan de Silva said they received the all-clear from the defence ministry to leave for Pakistan on Tuesday. \u201cWe have the green light from the defence ministry,\u201d de Silva told AFP. \u201cThe tour […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":83797,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-83785","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n