Karachi: The final Twenty20 international match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka will be held in Lahore on October 29th however some of the Sri Lankan players are not keen on the trip.
In a bid to counter the situation, Sri Lanka cricket chief selector Graeme Labrooy warned that players who refuse to travel to Lahore would not be considered for the other two T20s in the series.
“The understanding is that we choose the same squad for the series, in fairness to the players who have put their hands up for the Lahore match,” cricket website quoted chief selector Graeme Labrooy as saying.
The first two T20I matches of the series are scheduled to be held on October 26th and 27th while the final game is to be held in Lahore on October 29th.
On the other hand, the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) is not pleased with the development however said that they couldn’t do much about the situation.
“FICA believes it’s unfair for the board (SLC) to attempt to force players to go to Lahore by not considering them for the rest of the T20 series”, said FICA executive chairman, Tony Irish
Talking to this correspondent, the FICA executive chairman further said that this was primarily an issue of the Sri Lanka board.
“Since it is a Sri Lanka issue, and not involving players across a number of countries, the FICA’s scope is limited in this regard”, Tony Irish added.
“We received very good reports from independent security experts during the recently concluded World XI series in Lahore and wish Pakistan all the best for the upcoming game, against Sri Lanka, as well”, FICA executive chairman concluded.
The Lahore match will be Sri Lanka’s first in Pakistan since the deadly attack on their team bus in 2009, also in Lahore.