Pakistan board satisfied with Sri Lanka security cover

KARACHI - The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has given the green signal to the security arrangements being made for the safety of its cricketers in Sri Lanka.

Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, said Wednesday that he was personally satisfied with the security cover being offered to the national team which begins its 45-day tour of Sri Lanka June 29.

Butt said he has also received a positive report from the team manager about the security arrangements being made by the Sri Lankans to ensure that the Pakistani players are safe in their country.

Butt said he will personally review the security arrangements when he visits Sri Lanka from July 3 to see the opening Test starting at Galle from July 4.

Pakistan will play three Tests, five One-day Internationals and a Twenty20 game during the tour.

Sri Lankan authorities have stepped up security for the Pakistan team and slapped new restrictions at match venues.

According to officials, fireworks, musical bands, glass bottles, tin cans, sharp objects, laser pointers and mirrors have all been banned from the grounds where the matches are scheduled to be played.

The series comes about a month after the Sri Lanka army ended a bloody, four-decade ethnic war against Tamil Tiger rebels in the island country. Pakistan’s three-day practice match against a Sri Lanka Cricket XI in Colombo that ends Wednesday saw hundreds of police commandos sealing off the ground while spectators were thoroughly frisked.

According to the Pakistan team management, the security measures are very tight but the players are not complaining about it.