Sri Lanka’s cricket team arrived in Pakistan on Monday for their two-match Test series, with the Pakistani government giving the visiting team the status of State Guests. The arrival holds immense importance as it signals the return of the longer format of the game in Pakistan after a gap of more than ten years. The first Test of the series will start in Rawalpindi from Wednesday. International cricket of the five-day Test format has been absent from Pakistan since an attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team bus in Lahore back in 2009 that resulted in injuries to several touring players. Arrival of Sri Lanka team at Islamabad. Warm welcome to the visitors to the federal capital.#PAKvSL action to being on Wednesday. Get your match tickets now! 🎫 pic.twitter.com/8e6OqMPhpm — Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) December 9, 2019 A security force of more than 4,000 security, including policemen from Punjab province and the Pakistan Army, will be deployed around the Pindi Cricket Stadium where the first Test starts on Wednesday. Karachi will host the second Test from Dec 19-23. Pakistan Cricket Board’s director cricket operations Zakir Khan welcomed the Sri Lanka team members at Islamabad International Airport before the team drove to the hotel amid tight security on Monday. Originally, Sri Lanka was scheduled to play Tests in October and then return in December for white-ball cricket, but the matches were swapped to provide them the opportunity to assess the security situation before deciding on the Test venues.