Sri Lankan cricket team arrives Karachi

Sri Lanka’s cricket team arrived in Karachi on Tuesday evening for a six-match limited-overs series – the first involving a major Test-playing nation in Pakistan in ten years.

The one-day series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka will be played in the National Stadium in Karachi while T-20 series will be played in the Qaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

The visiting team will have a rest day on Wednesday tomorrow and will take part in a training session in the National Stadium on Thursday.

The first one day cricket match will be played between both teams on 27th September on Friday.

In this regard, a Sri Lankan security team has already visited the National Stadium to review the security arrangements.

Meanwhile, the renovation and ground preparation for the match has also been completed in the stadium.

It’s a development which underlines the fact that normalcy is returning to the world of Pakistan cricket.

This means that the Islanders will take on Pakistan in the ODI series without carrying out a single training session at the venue of the series – the iconic National Stadium.

It’s a development which underlines the fact that there is still a long way to go before normalcy fully returns to the world of Pakistan cricket in the real sense of the world.

The Sri Lankans almost cancelled their much-awaited tour of Pakistan after reports of a terror threats.

That’s why when they called off Wednesday’s planned activities at the National Stadium, there were fears that the tourists might be playing it safe.

But a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) spokesman told ‘The News’ that the visiting Sri Lankan squad which includes top Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) officials is completely satisfied with the security arrangements made for them.

“Perhaps the reason behind their decision to cancel the press conference and training session is jet lag,” said the PCB spokesman.

The Sri Lankan cricketers arrived in Karachi from Colombo via Dubai.

Arrival of Sri Lanka team at Karachi for ODI series against Pakistan
Warm welcome to the visitors to the city of lights.#PAKvSL action to being on Friday. pic.twitter.com/HcnC5U7G6O

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) September 24, 2019

They were received at the airport by Zakir Khan, PCB’s Director International Cricket and other top Board officials.