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Sri Lanka batsman Kumar Sangakkara plays a shot during the one day international Asia Cup between Pakistan and Sri Lanka at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium in Fatullah, Dhaka, on February 25, 2014. (AFP)
Pakistan's restored cricket chief Najam Sethi said Thursday that his board is inviting Sri Lanka to play a home series, five years after they survived a terrorist attack.
The move by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) came two days after Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse promised his Pakistani counterpart Mamnoon Hussain to send his cricket team during a meeting on the sidelines of a summit in China.
“We are sending a letter of invitation to Sri Lanka Cricket today after their president promised to send his country's cricket team to Pakistan and we hope for a positive outcome,” Sethi told a press conference.
Sethi was holding his first press conference after being restored as chairman of the PCB management committee by Pakistan's Supreme Court on Wednesday, four days after an Islamabad high court ruling suspended him and reinstated Zaka Ashraf.
No foreign team has toured Pakistan since militants attacked the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore in March 2009, killing eight people and injuring seven visiting players.
Cricketers injured in the attack included Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Ajantha Mendis, and Thilan Samaraweera.
Sethi said Pakistan was very much concerned about being isolated, without major international cricket in Pakistan.
“We have heard the positive statement by the President of Sri Lanka and we are writing them and offering them a home series in Pakistan. We are writing them that there is no security problem and you are welcome and we will provide you the maximum security with the help of the Punjab Government," he reiterated.
“We are ready to host them, have mentioned the gap in our cricket commitments and want to use this opportunity,” said Sethi.
“Our top priority is to host an international team and we are making efforts for that.”
Since the 2009 attacks Pakistan have been forced to play their home series in the UAE.
Bangladesh twice agreed to play short limited-over series in Pakistan to end their isolation but each time backed out for security reasons.
Pakistan is set to tour Sri Lanka in August to play two Tests and three one-day internationals.
They will then host Australia and New Zealand in the UAE from October 3 to December 19.
They are scheduled to host Zimbabwe in December to January, but that period could be utilised to host Sri Lanka.
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