Captain Dimuth Karunaratne among 10 players to opt out of Pakistan tour

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has confirmed that 10 players have opted out of Sri Lanka’s upcoming tour of Pakistan, in what will likely to be a bitter pill to swallow for the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), who had been viewing the tour as a stepping stone to permanently returning international cricket to the country.

Niroshan Dickwella, Kusal Janith Perera, Dhananjaya De Silva, Thisara Perera, Akila Dhananjaya, Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Suranga Lakmal, Dinesh Chandimal, and Captain Dimuth Karunaratne are the players who have withdrawn from the series.

The decision was taken at a meeting held last evening, where the SLC had briefed the players selected in the preliminary squad about the security situation in Pakistan, prior to a final decision on their availability for the tour being made.

“Former Sri Lanka Air Force Commander Marshal Air Roshan Goonetileke, who is the Chief Security Advisor of the SLC, briefed the players about the security situation in Pakistan and the security arrangements PCB plans on implementing during the Sri Lanka team’s tour,” stated an SLC media release. 

“Chairman of the National Selection Panel Asantha De Mel explained about the selection policy for future tours. He said players will be given the freedom to decide on either taking part or not in the forthcoming Pakistan tour.”

The players’ decision will come as a blow to PCB, as those opting out form the core of Sri Lanka’s limited overs outfit. Sri Lanka are set to play three ODIs and three T20Is each from 27 September to 9 October.

Last month, the SLC and the PCB agreed to bring forward the limited-overs leg of the split series and pushed back the two tests, which were originally set to take place in October.

The PCB said the tour would go ahead as planned despite the 10 Lankans deciding not to travel.

“The PCB understands and respects it is the prerogative of Sri Lanka Cricket to select the best available players for the upcoming tour for white-ball cricket,” a PCB spokesman told Reuters.

“As far as the PCB is concerned, the tour is on and we look forward to welcoming the Sri Lanka team in Karachi later this month.” 

Pakistan did not host international cricket for six years following the 2009 attack, with the team playing their home matches in the UAE, but have hosted teams such as Zimbabwe and West Indies in recent years.