 "Sri Lanka warns Pakistan about financial, tourism loss, asks to reconsider India boycott: Report")
In a fresh twist to the drama surrounding Pakistan’s participation in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup, Sri Lanka Cricket have urged the Pakistan Cricket Board to reconsider their stance of boycotting their Group A clash against India.
According to a report on newswire.lk, SLC president Shammi Silva highlighted the significant negative impact on the tournament’s commercial and sporting dynamics that the cancellation of the marquee fixture could cause.
The Sri Lankan board further added that it’s just the island nation’s economy that will feel the pinch of cancelled flights and hotel bookings that will accompany the cancellation of the most financially lucrative fixture in cricket, with other teams also set to face a financial blow on the longer run.
The Pakistani board had originally threatened to boycott the entire tournament in protest against Bangladesh’s last-minute ouster from the tournament, before leaving the fate of their participation in the hands of the Shehbaz Sharif-led Pakistan government.
Also Read | Suryakumar Yadav, Salman Agha react to Pakistan’s T20 World Cup boycott of India
Islamabad ultimately allowed the Salman Ali Agha-led squad to travel to Sri Lanka for the World Cup, but barred them from taking the field in their marquee fixture against arch-rivals India, which takes place at Colombo’s R Premadasa Stadium on 15 February.
‘We as a country are losing because of this decision’
SLC secretary Bandula Dissanayake later confirmed the letter to the PCB while speaking to The New Indian Express.
“Yes, we have written a letter to the PCB,” Dissanayake was quoted by the daily as saying. “We tried to highlight things we have done for Pakistan cricket in their difficult times in the past. We expressed our concerns over their decision as all the preparations have been done here for the match.
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View All“We categorically told them that not only Sri Lanka cricket but we as a country are losing because of this decision. They are hurting Sri Lanka’s economy. It will hurt tourism here in the country. Our economy will take a hit because of this one decision,” he added.
Also Read | Pakistan PM doubles down on India boycott, blames ICC politics after Bangladesh’s removal
Other cricketing nations might not feel the impact of Pakistan’s boycott in the near future, unlike Sri Lanka, but on the longer run when the International Cricket Council is forced to slash the funds that is meant for its Full as well as Associate Members.
It’s worth noting that Sri Lanka Cricket had recently refused to call off a tour of Pakistan in November despite several members of the squad wanting to fly back home following a terror attack that took place near their team hotel in Islamabad.
SLC had also played a leading role in restoring normalcy to cricket in Pakistan by playing a Test series in 2019, a decade after the Sri Lankan team bus was targeted by terrorists in Lahore..
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