Some Sri Lankan cricketers who are currently touring Pakistan with the team for an ODI series have asked their board to cancel the tour, according to sources.
Earlier, the country witnessed a deadly bomb explosion in Islamabad.
Sources in Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said that because of the proximity of Rawalpindi, where the three-match ODI is being played, to Islamabad, where the explosion took place, killing 12 people, a few players had expressed the desire to return.
However, the SLC management wants the players to continue with the tour as scheduled. The ODI series will be followed by the triangular series, in which Zimbabwe`s team will also be involved.
The first ODI match between Sri Lanka and Pakistan was played in Rawalpindi, in which the hosts emerged victorious by six runs. The second game has been scheduled to be played at the same venue.
It is also learnt that eight Sri Lankan players are set to return home. The development means the second 50-over match will likely not happen.
Additionally, earlier in the week, unknown assailants fired at the gate of Pakistan pacer Naseem Shah`s ancestral home in Lower Dir district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but the bowler decided to stay with the team for the first ODI as nobody was harmed in the incident.
Many of the national team players come from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where inthe Northern areas, security forces are fighting terror attacks frequently. The northern areas are also known for tribal feuds.
In the year 2009, the Sri Lankan team bus was attacked by gunmen when the team bus was on its way to Gaddafi Stadium. The attack had also left several cricketers, including Ajantha Mendis, Chaminda Vaas and then skipper Mahela Jayawardene, injured.
During the attack, the Pakistani security personnel were also killed.
Following the deadly attack, all foreign teams refrained from visiting Pakistan for over a decade, and the country was compelled to use offshore venues in the Middle East to host its home matches.
Coincidentally, it was Sri Lanka`s tour of Pakistan in December 2019, which signalled the return of international cricket to the country.
(With Inputs from Agencies)
