Sri Lankan cricket team likely to visit Pakistan this year

In the wake of Pakistan's successful Champions Trophy campaign, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has said that it is expecting Sri Lanka to tour the country for one-day internationals and Twenty20 matches at the end of this year.

According to a PCB official, the Angelo Mathews-led team are expected to tour Pakistan for a limited-overs series which would be staged only in Lahore in the months of November or December.

"Our Sri Lankan counterparts have expressed willingness in sending their team to Pakistan as the security situation is improving in the country," the Dawn quoted the PCB official as saying.

He further said that the host country would be providing a similar kind of high-profile security to the Sri Lankan team as provided to foreign players during the Pakistan Super League (PSL) final at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore earlier this year.

"The PSL final has proved a great breakthrough in reviving international cricket in Pakistan," the official said.

The PCB official further said that World XI team would also be touring Pakistan in September, which will also saw foreign players from Australia, West Indies, Sri Lanka and South Africa.

No Test side has toured Pakistan since the March 2009 militants attack on the Lankan cricket team bus in Lahore, killing six Pakistani policemen and injuring some of the visiting players. However, low-ranked sides namely Afghanistan and Zimbabwe had toured the country for a limited-over series.

-ANI