A deadly bomb blast in Islamabad has rattled the Sri Lankan cricket camp, prompting eight players to cut short their Pakistan tour and fly home on Thursday, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) sources confirmed, reported PTI.
The explosion, which killed 12 and injured several others, has reignited fears about player safety in a country still struggling to shed its past of on-field violence.
Their decision has forced the cancellation of Thursday’s second ODI in Rawalpindi, just a day after Pakistan clinched a six-run victory in the series opener at the same venue.
“The proximity of Rawalpindi, where the ODIs are being played, to Islamabad was the reason the players expressed the desire to return home,” an SLC source said. Replacements will be sent to fill the vacant spots in the squad, officials added.
The Sri Lankan team was also scheduled to play a triangular series involving Zimbabwe after the ODIs. The blast has cast uncertainty over the rest of the tour, despite Pakistan’s assurances of full security.
Security was already tightened following the Islamabad and Wana terror attacks, with Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner assured that the visiting cricketers were being treated as “state guests.”
For many, the developments bring back haunting memories of 2009, when the Sri Lankan team bus was ambushed by gunmen on its way to the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
Several players, including Ajantha Mendis, Chaminda Vaas and captain Mahela Jayawardene, were injured, while Pakistani security personnel lost their lives in the assault.
That attack drove international cricket out of Pakistan for nearly a decade. It was Sri Lanka’s 2019 tour that reopened the country’s doors to the global game.