Pleased to host the Sri Lankan team for ODI, T20 series, says PCB
Pakistan is all set to welcome the Sri Lankan cricket team back on their home soil after a mutual agreement between the two boards to play three ODIs and T20Is in Karachi and Lahore. The limited-overs leg of the series will be swapped with the two-match ICC World Championship series.
Sri Lanka will now play three ODIs in Karachi followed by as many T20Is in Lahore, from September 27 to October 9, before flying back. They will then return for the two Tests in December. A release from the PCB confirmed that the call to swap the two was done following a phone discussion between PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani and SLC President Shammi Silva on Friday.
"The PCB is pleased with the outcome of its discussions with Sri Lanka Cricket, which has supported Pakistan in its efforts and endeavours for the complete revival of international cricket. The tour for limited-overs matches will also provide Sri Lanka with an even better understanding of the ground situation before discussing the schedule of the Tests," Mani was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.
"The hosting of the ICC World XI, a T20I against Sri Lanka, three-T20I series men's and women's series against the West Indies and eight Pakistan Super League 2019 matches within the past couple of years is a testament to Pakistan's claim that it is a safe and secure country to play cricket. We are very grateful to Sri Lanka Cricket President Mr Shammi Silva, his board and players for responding positively to our request to play matches in Pakistan," Mani added.
Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan chief confirmed that they had done a thorough security check before coming to the decision. The team will arrive in Karachi on September 25, and fly back home from Lahore on October 10.
"The SLC security experts had visited the two cities earlier this month and had given a positive report, which made our job of decision-making easy. The safety and security of its players is the responsibility of the SLC, which it takes very seriously. If there had been any doubts, the SLC would not have gone ahead with this arrangement that we envisage will improve the players' confidence and trust level and will also be critical when we start discussions on the schedule of the Test matches," Silva said.
