PCB requests Sri Lankan board for full series Pak tour in 2011

KARACHI - The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has written to its Sri Lankan counterpart, requesting it to tour the country this year for a full series.

A senior official said that the PCB had already started a process to convince the Sri Lankan board to undertake the tour in October.

“We have written to them a few months back, highlighting the fact that it would be a big boost for Pakistan cricket if they agreed to play the series as scheduled in Pakistan,” the Daily Times quoted the senior PCB official, as saying.

Sources revealed that the PCB had also got indications from the government that it would provide foolproof security for any foreign team willing to tour Pakistan.

Earlier, Sri Lankan board chief Somachandra de Silva had said that he was in touch with the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Special Task Force for Pakistan on the matter, adding that any decision would be based on the advice received from the ICC Task Force and their own authorities on the security situation in Pakistan.

PCB chief Ijaz Butt welcomed de Silva’s statement and expressed the hope that the series would be played in Pakistan.

“The comments of Mr Silva are reassuring and will help a long way in helping restore the confidence of the international cricket community in playing cricket in Pakistan,” Butt said in a statement.

“Sri Lanka is a brotherly nation and they have always stood by our side whenever we have needed their support. Whatever happened two years ago was extremely tragic and every cricket-loving Pakistani was feeling sad for the Sri Lankan team,” he said.

“Pakistani fans are missing the big events of cricket at home and they are waiting for the international teams to visit Pakistan. We are in constant touch with ICC, The Task Team on Pakistan and the other Boards in this regard and are hopeful of international cricket return to Pakistan very soon”, he added.

No foreign team has visited Pakistan since March 2009, when militants attacked the Sri Lankan team in Lahore killing six policemen and a van driver and wounding several players of the travelling side. (ANI)