Sri Lanka's tour of Pakistan to go ahead as planned

Sri Lanka cricket team's tour of Pakistan will go ahead as planned, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Thursday.

Earlier, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) had sought the assistance of the country's government for a reassessment of the security situation in Pakistan.

It had said the decision was taken following a warning the SLC received from the Prime Minister's Office sent via the Ministry of Telecommunication, Foreign Employment and Sports regarding a possible terrorist threat to the team while touring Pakistan.

On September 9, ten Sri Lankan players had chosen to not to join the series in Pakistan, citing security reasons.

The players who opted out were -- Lasith Malinga, Niroshan Dickwella, Kusal Janith Perera, Dhananjaya De Silva, Thisara Perera, Akila Dhananjaya, Angelo Mathews, Suranga Lakmal, Dinesh Chandimal and Dimuth Karunaratne.

The Sri Lankan team were on their way to Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore for a Test match with Pakistan in 2009 when terrorists believed to be from Taliban and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) fired indiscriminately at their bus. That attack left eight people dead and injured seven Sri Lankan players and staff.

Since then, international cricket has eluded Pakistan with no high-profile team visiting the country for a full-length tour.

However, Sri Lanka returned to Pakistan in October 2017 for a lone T20 match in Lahore, the place where the attack took place.

The side will take on Pakistan in three ODIs and as many T20Is.

The Sri Lanka ODI squad: Lahiru Thirimanne (capt), Danushka Gunathilaka, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Avishka Fernando, Oshada Fernando, Shehan Jayasuriya, Dasun Shanaka, Minod Bhanuka, Angelo Perera, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lakshan Sandakan, Nuwan Pradeep, Isuru Udana, Kasun Rajitha and Lahiru Kumara

The team for the T20I series: Dasun Shanaka (capt), Danushka Gunathilaka, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Avishka Fernando, Oshada Fernando, Shehan Jayasuriya, Angelo Perera, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Minod Bhanuka, Lahiru Madushanka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lakshan Sandakan, Isuru Udana, Nuwan Pradeep, Kasun Rajitha and Lahiru Kumara.

The first ODI between Sri Lanka and Pakistan will be played on September 27 in Karachi.