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In what comes as a massive blow to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), eight Sri Lankan players, currently touring Pakistan with the national team for a three-match ODI series, are set to return home on Thursday after expressing concern over their safety following a deadly bomb blast in Islamabad that left 12 people dead and several injured. The development means the second ODI scheduled in Rawalpindi on Thursday now stands cancelled, although an official confirmation from the PCB is yet to come. The Sri Lankan team was also scheduled to play a triangular series, involving the hosts and Zimbabwe, after the three ODIs, but the series now looks in serious trouble. Reportedly, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is planning to send the replacement players to Pakistan for the series, but the likelihood of the series going ahead looks very grim at the moment. The match was set to take place in Rawalpindi, but its close proximity to Islamabad left the players concerned, and they expressed a wish to leave the series midway. In 2009, the Sri Lankan cricket team bus was attacked by gunmen when it was on its way to the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore for the second Test. Several members of the Sri Lankan team, including Ajantha Mendis, Chaminda Vaas and captain Mahela Jayawardene, were injured while many Pakistani security personnel were killed. Following the deadly attack, all foreign teams refrained from visiting Pakistan for over a decade, and the country was compelled to use offshore venues in the Middle East to host its home matches. Coincidentally, it was Sri Lanka's tour of Pakistan in December 2019 that signalled the return of international cricket to the country. Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from Sports, Cricket and around the world.
