Sri Lanka completely safe, security has been fantastic, says Tamim Iqbal

On Friday, Bangladesh will become the first team to play an international cricket match in Sri Lanka post the Colombo terror attacks on April 21 - a tragic incident that saw hundreds of people lose their lives. Months prior to that, the Bangladesh team themselves survived a major scare, as they were meters away from a mass shooting in a Mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand. 

The incident rocked the Bangladeshi players mentally, and the Christchurch Test was subsequently called off in the aftermath of the incident. Now, four months after the incident, the Bangladeshi players will step foot onto the Sri Lankan soil, and this time around, they have been backed up with plenty of security to ensure their safety. The tour was in doubt a month earlier owing to security reasons but then was given the green signal after BCB expressed their contentment. 

Bangladeshi opener Tamim Iqbal, who also witnessed the Christchurch horror right in front of his own eyes in March, has now come forward and hailed the security provided, and has stated that the players feel free and safe to go wherever they want. 

"The security has been fantastic ... The facilities they have given us are top notch. We are feeling very comfortable. There is nothing except cricket (that) we are thinking of. The boys are enjoying the hotel and if they want to go out, it is completely safe for us," said Tamim, speaking to the PTI. 

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) have done everything under their power to ensure the safety of players, officials, journalists and everyone related to the game, and it was also reported that the journalists and players were given "airport-style" security ahead of Tamim's press conference on Monday.

"We have special security arrangements at match venues too," a police official told AFP.

The first of 3 ODIs will be played on July 26 at the R.Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.