Many top Sri Lankan players have withdrawn their names from the upcoming Pakistan tour. Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has reportedly blamed Indian Premier League (IPL) for Sri Lankan players’ neglecting Pakistan tour.
Since the terrorist attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team bus during the 2009 Lahore Test, Pakistan has struggled to organise the international cricket matches. Till the date, Pakistan hasn’t organised a Test match after that Lahore Test. Meanwhile, after that terrorist attack incident, Pakistan didn’t host an international match before 2015. After that, Pakistan has organised nine T20Is and three ODIs till the date.
On the other hand, after the horrific terrorist attack experience, Sri Lankan national cricket team has played only one T20I in Pakistan till the date and that was in October 2017.
Also, only a few Sri Lankan cricketers participate in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), which has been mostly played in the UAE.
According to the new schedule, Sri Lanka will tour in Pakistan in this September-October for the limited-overs series. They will play three-match ODI and three-match T20I series from 27th September to 9th October 2019. However, many Sri Lankan players have denied travelling to Pakistan. A total of 10 players have withdrawn their names from this forthcoming Pakistan tour.
Sri Lankan players are under pressure from IPL franchises – Shahid Afridi
Former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi has said that the IPL franchises have pressurised the Sri Lankan cricketers. He claimed that the Sri Lankan players wanted to play in Pakistan and PSL but the IPL franchises were stopping them. Afridi added that the IPL franchises wouldn’t offer a contract to the Sri Lankan players if they travelled to Pakistan.
According to PakPassion.net, Afridi said, “Sri Lankan players are under pressure from IPL franchises. I spoke to SL players last time when there was talk of them coming to Pakistan & playing in PSL. They said they wanted to come, but IPL guys say if you go to Pakistan we won’t give you a contract.”
Shahid Afridi "Sri Lankan players are under pressure from IPL franchises. I spoke to SL players last time when there was talk of them coming to Pakistan & playing in PSL. They said they wanted to come, but IPL guys say if you go to Pakistan we won't give you a contract" #PAKvSL
— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) September 19, 2019
In the meantime, Sri Lanka’s upcoming tour of Pakistan is still doubtful due to the security reason.