After 2009, Sri Lanka to play international cricket in Pakistan again

Sri Lanka cricket team has decided to play in Pakistan for the first time since their team bus was attacked in Lahore in 2009 after being left “fully satisfied” with “stringent security measures”.

Sri Lanka cricket team will play a Twenty20 international in Lahore on Oct. 29, returning to the city for the first time since they suffered a gun and grenade attack in 2009, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) confirmed on Monday.

Sri Lanka Cricket on Monday confirmed its decision to play a T20I against Pakistan in Lahore later this month. (Twitter)

The attack, in which six police officers and two civilians were killed and six Sri Lanka players injured, meant Pakistan became a virtual no-go area for touring teams. Apart from a brief visit by Zimbabwe in 2015, Pakistan has since been playing its home matches in the United Arab Emirates.

(Read | Babar Azam, Shadab Khan steer Pakistan to win in second ODI vs Sri Lanka)

But last month Pakistan hosted three Twenty20 internationals against a World XI in the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

The SLC said over the past two months it had conducted a thorough evaluation with the assistance of the governments of Sri Lanka and Pakistan, the Pakistan Cricket Board and independent Security experts.

“Having been fully satisfied with the stringent security measures in place, the SLC ExCo unanimously decided to play the 3rd T20 in Lahore on the 29th October,” the SLC said in the statement.

The first two matches in the Twenty20 series will played in the United Arab Emirates.