Daily Times

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka players who refuse to travel to Lahore will not be considered for the other two T20s in the series. The board is presently attempting to convince as many players as possible that a 24-hour trip to Pakistan would not be unsafe, but in the interim has indicated to the selectors that only those willing to travel should play in the two preceding matches in Abu Dhabi.

“The understanding is that we choose the same squad for the series, in fairness to the players who have put their hands up for the Lahore match,” chief selector Graeme Labrooy said. That decision, however, came from board and sports ministry, rather than the selectors themselves.

If the board sticks to this policy of picking just one squad for the series, Sri Lanka are likely to have a new captain across the three matches – Upul Tharanga has already conveyed unwillingness to play in Lahore. The series may also become an opportunity for fringe players to make their case for further selection. Already, a rough pattern appears to be emerging, where players who have had sporadic opportunities to play for Sri Lanka are more willing to go to Lahore than those who have had longer international careers.

“At the moment the board is talking to each of the players individually, so the selectors don’t know exactly who is available now,” Labrooy said. “But we should know that by Friday morning. Two SLC executive committee members have been contacting the players.” The Lahore match, on October 29, will be Sri Lanka’s first in Pakistan since gunmen attacked the team bus in 2009, also in Lahore.

Published in Daily Times, October 20^th 2017.