Pakistan’s cricketing calendar is set to continue after the government officially deployed the Pakistan Army and paramilitary forces to safeguard Sri Lanka’s national team following the recent incident in Islamabad.
This development comes after Field Marshal Asim Munir personally assured the visitors of foolproof security during their stay in Pakistan.
Before this handover to the Pakistan Army, the Pakistan Police was responsible for handling the security arrangements of the Sri Lanka cricket team during the ongoing ODI series and the upcoming T20I tri-nation series. This included armed escorts to and from the team hotels to the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, as well as ensuring their safety throughout their stay.
The stadium and hotel housing the visitors are located less than ten kilometres from the blast site, where twelve people were killed and dozens injured. The incident rattled Sri Lanka’s camp, with several players reportedly requesting to return home. However, their board instructed the squad to stay on, citing security guarantees from Pakistani authorities.
The violence has revived painful memories of the 2009 Lahore attack on Sri Lanka’s team, which froze international cricket in Pakistan for nearly a decade. Since then, painstaking efforts by the PCB and the state have restored confidence, bringing back major teams and tournaments.
Fifteen years after the Lahore tragedy, the sight of Sri Lanka once again playing in Rawalpindi is both symbolic and sobering — a reminder of how far Pakistan has come in reclaiming its place on the international cricket map, and how fragile that progress remains.
