"Conference to consider promoting Sri Lanka to Test status. When Sri Lanka played their first Test in 1982, six of this touring team (Ajit de Silva, Somachandra de Silva, Kaluperuma, Mendis, Warnapura and Wettimuny) were in the side. Sri Lankan cricket team in Pakistan in 1973–74 The Sri Lankan cricket team toured Pakistan in March and April 1974, playing eight first-class matches, including two against Pakistan. Sri Lanka did not then have Test status. At the time it was Sri Lanka’s longest tour. Sri Lanka began with a seven-wicket victory over Sind, and a drawn match against Punjab. In the"
"Pakistan Super League held at U.A.E in February 2016. On 3 March 2009, the bus that carried the Sri Lankan cricketers to the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, for the third day's play of the second Test match between Sri Lanka and Pakistan, was fired at by masked gunmen. Mendis was among seven Sri Lankan cricketers who were injured in the attack, which killed five policemen who guarded the bus. Mendis made his debut in Test cricket against India in at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo, on 23 July 2008. He claimed his first wicket in his fifth over, bowling"
"cricket team were attacked by terrorists while travelling to the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Since then, the only Test side to visit Pakistan has been Zimbabwe, when they toured during May 2015. Two of Sri Lanka's current team, Chamara Kapugedera and Suranga Lakmal were on the bus during the 2009 terrorist attack, and both could have been selected for the T20I squad for this series. In September 2017, the fixtures were confirmed, with the final T20I match of the series scheduled to be played in Lahore. Sri Lanka Cricket said that players have a ""contractual obligation"" to play the match"
"Zealand in 2002. On 3 March 2009, the scheduled third day of second Test of 2008–09 Sri Lanka tour of Pakistan, the Sri Lankan team's convoy was attacked by armed militants at Liberty Roundabout, near Gaddafi stadium. Eight Sri Lankan players were injured, including Sri Lankan captain, Mahela Jayawardene. The Sri Lankan team was air-lifted from Gaddafi Stadium to a nearby airbase, from where they were evacuated back to Sri Lanka, this event marked the end of international cricket in Pakistan. However, on 19 May 2015, the Zimbabwe cricket team landed at the Allama Iqbal International Airport to become the"
"the past, Pakistan has suffered a lot from terrorism which prevented foreign teams from visiting Pakistan primarily due to the 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team. As a result, their home matches have been mostly held in the United Arab Emirates since then. However, due to a massive decrease in terrorism in Pakistan over the past few years, as well as a sharp increase in security, many teams have toured Pakistan since 2015 and the situation appears to be getting better. These teams include Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, West Indies, and the ICC World XI made of mostly"
"2008 Mumbai attacks led to the suspension of India's planned tour of Pakistan in 2009 and all future engagements in Pakistan. India was scheduled to begin the tour of Pakistan from 13 January to 19 February 2009, but was cancelled because of the tension existing between the two countries after the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. India has refused to play series with Pakistan since then. The rise of domestic terrorism led to Pakistan not hosting international cricket since the Sri Lankan team was attacked in 2009, and Pakistan was stripped of its co-host status for the ICC Cricket World Cup"
"International cricket in 2008–09 The 2008–09 international cricket season was between September 2008 and March 2009. The season saw the security concerns for cricket in Pakistan reach a pinnacle. The ICC Champions Trophy, scheduled to be held in Pakistan in September 2008, was postponed to 2009 after five of the participating nations refused to send their teams for the event. In November 2008, a Pakistani militant group launched terror attacks in Mumbai. This led to India cancelling their tour of Pakistan originally scheduled for January and February 2009. Sri Lanka agreed to tour Pakistan in place of India but the"
"after the attack. The tour, if gone ahead, would have ended a five-year hiatus of international cricket in Pakistan, with no international teams having toured the country since the 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team by militants. The attack was thought to have dashed the Pakistan Cricket Board's recent efforts to arrange international teams to tour Pakistan. A post-attack Cabinet Committee on National Security meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on 10 June. The meeting was attended by Army chief Raheel Sharif, interior minister Nisar Ali Chaudhry and other high-profile government and military officials. The airport"
"first Full Member nation to tour Pakistan since March 2009. On 5 March 2017 the final of the 2017 Pakistan Super League was played in the stadium. Pakistan won both ODI and T20I series comfortably. On August 2017, PCB along with ICC started to improve international cricket in Pakistan. With that, under heavy security, PCB planned World XI tour to Pakistan for three T20Is. In August 2017, Thilanga Sumathipala, president of Sri Lanka Cricket, said that he would like to play at least one of the three T20I matches in Lahore, Pakistan during October. In March 2009, the Sri Lanka"
"the second Test match of that series, while heading for the third day's play, he became one of the Sri Lankan cricketers wounded when their team bus was attacked by terrorists in Lahore, Pakistan. Despite being attacked and badly injured, Paranavitana recovered to register his maiden Test century sixteen months later on July 18, 2010 against India at Galle, Sri Lanka. He was dropped from the Test team at the end of 2011, being replaced by Lahiru Thirimanne for Sri Lanka's third Test of their tour of South Africa. Tharanga Paranavitana Nishad Tharanga Paranavitana (born 15 April 1982 in Kegalle),"
"in February 2009, when Sri Lanka toured Pakistan. That series was cut short, following an attack on the Sri Lanka cricket team. It was the first tour in Pakistan of more than one match against another Test nation since Zimbabwe toured in May 2015. In October 2017, Sri Lanka played a T20I match against Pakistan in Lahore. Pakistan whitewashed the windies to cemment their place at the top of the ICC Rankings. National Stadium, Karachi The National Stadium () cricket stadium in Karachi, Pakistan. It is the home ground of Karachi Kings, and is home to many other Karachi's domestic"
"team (known as ""Shaheen"") won the Cricket World Cup held in 1992; it was runner-up once, in 1999. Pakistan was runner-up in the inaugural World Twenty20 (2007) in South Africa and won the World Twenty20 in England in 2009. In March 2009, militants attacked the touring Sri Lankan cricket team, after which no international cricket was played in Pakistan until May 2015, when the Zimbabwean team agreed to a tour. Pakistan also won the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy by defeating arch-rivals India in the final. Association Football is the second most played sports in Pakistan and it is organised and"
"60 until Mendis come into the scene. Mendis took 6 wickets for 13 runs by recording the best bowling figures in an Asia Cup final. Sri Lanka lifted the fourth Asia Cup title and Mendis won both man of the match and player of the series awards. On 3 March 2009, the Sri Lankan team's convoy was attacked in Lahore, Pakistan by gunmen. This led to the death of five policemen and injuries to seven cricketers and a member of the coaching team. The team was on its way to the Gaddafi Stadium where they were scheduled to begin the"
"The stadium hosts the Dr Mohammad Ali Shah Night Twenty20 Cricket Tournament every year in the month of Ramadan. Following an attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore in 2009, international cricket experienced a halt in Pakistan as foreign teams refused to tour the country over security concerns. Consequently, the Pakistani cricket team hosted home tournaments in neutral venues such as the United Arab Emirates. In October 2012, Shah was credited as having played an instrumental role in reviving international cricket in the country after a period of three and a half years when, in his capacity as"
"said that English players contracted to the IPL would now be more concerned for their safety. The 2009 Indian Premier League was hosted by South Africa between 18 April and 24 May 2009. Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly said after these attacks Pakistan not a safe venue to play cricket. The 2011 Cricket World Cup was to be co-hosted by Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, but in the wake of this attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team the International Cricket Council (ICC) stripped Pakistan of its hosting rights due to security concerns. The headquarters of the organising committee"
"foreign elements."" The Lahore police accused them of being responsible for the 3 March 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore. The group also claimed the 2009 Lahore bombing shortly after the attack, although the attack was also claimed by Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, and the May 2010 attacks on Ahmadi mosques in Lahore which were aimed at the Ahmadi minority sect. Pamphlets found at the scene of the March 2011 assassination of Shahbaz Bhatti implicated the Punjabi Taliban. On 24 August 2013, a spokesman for the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan claimed that the head of the Punjabi Taliban faction, Asmatullah"
"national cricket team, which forced Pakistan to play all internal home games in the United Arab Emirates due to security concerns. The choice of Lahore to host the final was controversial due to the ongoing security situation in the country, in particular a series of bombings in the weeks leading up to the final. The Pakistan Cricket Board and Pakistan Super League purchased bullet proof buses to transfer players and officials to the stadium, and an extensive security and intelligence operation was mounted in Lahore. Teams were flown to Lahore on the day of the final and flew out again"
"and the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore in 2009. A predominantly Punjabi group, the LeJ has been labelled by Pakistani intelligence officials as one of the country's most virulent terrorist organisations. Basra, the first Emir of LeJ, was killed in a police encounter in 2002. He was succeeded by Malik Ishaq, who was also killed, along with Ghulam Rasool Shah, in an encounter in Muzaffargarh in 2015. LeJ was banned by Pakistan in August 2001. The LeJ remains active, and has been designated as a terrorist organization by Australia, Canada, India, Pakistan, Russia, United Kingdom, United"
"2016, three of the terrorists involved in the attack were killed during a police raid in Lahore. In October, the attack's mastermind was killed in eastern Afghanistan during a military operation, while hiding there. The safety of touring cricket teams in Pakistan had long been an issue. In May 2002, New Zealand abandoned their Test series in Pakistan after a suicide bomb attack outside their hotel. However, they returned in the 2003/2004 season to fulfill their commitments. Australia had recently refused to tour on safety grounds. The Sri Lankan cricket team was in Pakistan as a replacement for the Indian"
"home matches at the stadium. However, Zimbabwe successfully toured Pakistan from May 19–31, 2015, playing five matches in Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. Pakistan has hosted series against Australia, England, West Indies, New Zealand and South Africa at this stadium. Because of the Indian general election, the first leg of the 2014 Indian Premier League was played there, as well as in DSC Cricket Stadium and Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium. In 2009, the stadium hosted numerous cricket games, mostly fixtures in the Nissan Gulf Cup, where domestic teams from England and India competed against each other for the title. In March 2009,"
"Stadium. Among the stadium's most memorable events were the back-to-back charity matches between rivals Pakistan and India in April 2006. These matches were significant as the arch-rivals put aside their differences to support the victims of the 2005 Pakistan earthquake. The series was expected to raise $10 million for earthquake relief. B. R. Shetty, of the Abu Dhabi Cricket Council, said: """"Of the total money raised, 75 percent will go to Pakistan and the rest to India"""". Many international series have been played there. Following the 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team, Pakistan was unable to host"
"and debutants Suriname. United States won the tournament. The favorites Bermuda and Canada 2nd and 3rd place. Team qualifies for 2009 ICC World Cup Qualifier International cricket in 2008–09 The 2008–09 international cricket season was between September 2008 and March 2009. The season saw the security concerns for cricket in Pakistan reach a pinnacle. The ICC Champions Trophy, scheduled to be held in Pakistan in September 2008, was postponed to 2009 after five of the participating nations refused to send their teams for the event. In November 2008, a Pakistani militant group launched terror attacks in Mumbai. This led to"
"team, who had pulled out after the Mumbai attacks. In order to persuade the Sri Lankan team to visit, the Pakistan government offered to give them presidential-style security. The series was the first Test tour of Pakistan since South Africa visited in October 2007. According to the officials, 12 gunmen were hiding near Liberty Square, in the centre of Lahore, waiting for the Sri Lankan team to pass on their way to the Gaddafi stadium. They started firing at the bus when it crossed the road. The Pakistan police escorting the team returned fire; in the ensuing fighting, six policemen"
"the reaction, their training should be on a level that if anyone shoots toward the company they are guarding, in less than three seconds they should shoot the man down."" Governor of Punjab province where the attack took place in Pakistan, gave medals and awards to honour valour and bravery of police officials for fighting the terrorists during the attack. Insurance costs for cricket matches in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka rose. The New Zealand team cancelled its December 2009 tour of Pakistan. Bangladesh also put off a scheduled tour by Pakistan to Bangladesh. The Union Home Minister of"
"vehicles. There were a series of ten coordinated terrorist attacks by 10 armed Pakistani men using automatic weapons and grenades which began on 26 November 2008 and ended on 29 November 2008. The attacks resulted in 164 deaths, 308 injuries, and severe damage to several important buildings. The city again saw a series of three coordinated bomb explosions at different locations on 13 July 2011 between 18:54 and 19:06 IST. The blasts occurred at the Opera House, Zaveri Bazaar, and Dadar, which left 26 killed, and 130 injured. The city's Wankhede Stadium was the venue for 2011 Cricket World Cup"
"also warned about potential attacks on commercial targets in Delhi ahead of the games. On 19 September 2010, unknown gunmen on a motorbike opened fire with an automatic pistol on a tourist bus outside the Jama Masjid mosque in Delhi. The attacks, which came a fortnight before the start of the games, injured two Taiwanese tourists. Two hours later, a Maruti car exploded in the vicinity, reportedly from a deliberate low-intensity pressure cooker bomb which had been assembled inside. No fatalities or major damages were reported. The incidents, which were purportedly claimed by the Indian Mujahideen, provoked fears about lack"
"2009 Lahore bombing The 2009 Lahore bombing, at police headquarters in Lahore, Pakistan on 27 May 2009, killed at least 35 people and injured 250. During the attack gunmen fired on guards then destroyed the emergency response building at the city's police headquarters. Offices used by the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency nearby also suffered damage. Pakistani accounts from the time of the attack say the three attackers who died in the attack were unidentified. Two of the attackers emerged from the Toyota van used in the attack, and fired on security officials. The driver was not able to breach the"
"secret investigative report has surfaced later prepared by the Additional Inspector General of the Crime Investigation Division, Punjab on 22 January 2009 outlining the potential threat to the Sri Lankan team. – The attack has been condemned by the Pakistani president, Asif Ali Zardari, and prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gillani. Governor Salmaan Taseer stated that the same people who executed the 2008 Mumbai attacks were responsible for this attack. Following the attack Pakistan's interior minister Rehman Malik declared that Pakistan is ""in a state of war"". Pakistani officials were also quick to blame one of its neighbours, India, of covert"
"centuries without even dismissed between 50–99, he never had scores of unbeaten innings between 50–99.He has scored 2 ODI hundreds without a single ODI fifty. Samaraweera, along with five other Sri Lanka cricketers, were injured in the 3 March 2009 attack on the bus that carried the Sri Lanka cricketers to the Gaddafi Stadium. He was hospitalised with a thigh injury. Samaraweera was the most seriously injured player amongst them. Six policemen that guarded the bus and two civilians were killed in the attack. In November 2017, he was named as Sri Lanka's batting coach till 2019 ICC Cricket World"
"Stadium in Lahore. 8 people were killed in the March 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team in Lahore. The Walled City of Lahore restoration project began in 2009, when the Punjab government embarked on a major project to restore the Royal Trail from Akbari Gate to the Lahore Fort with assistance from the World Bank. Lying between 31°15′—31°45′ N and 74°01′—74°39′ E, Lahore is bounded on the north and west by the Sheikhupura District, on the east by Wagah, and on the south by Kasur District. The Ravi River flows on the northern side of Lahore. Lahore"
"to be played in lahore, the fixtures were to be played in November 2017. However, early in November 2017, reports announced that the West Indies team would not be travelling to Pakistan over security concerns. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Najam Sethi stated that the original schedule was changed due to unforeseen weather, logistic issues and challenges with security. In March 2018, the PCB confirmed that the fixtures would take place in April at the National Stadium in Karachi after the conclusion of PSL2018. The last time an international cricket match was played at the venue in Karachi was"
"and New Zealand players wore black armbands while playing their next One Day International as a show of solidarity towards the Sri Lankan players injured in the attack, as did Australia and South Africa while playing their next test. – Prime Minister Kevin Rudd also condemned the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team, calling it ""shameful and cowardly"". He demanded answers from Pakistan after claims that police left Australians travelling with Sri Lanka's cricket team in the lurch as the bus was attacked. ""I am sufficiently concerned about what has been said by the Australians that we need an"
"of the bombers. His martyrdom video was broadcast on YouTube. 2009 Lahore bombing The 2009 Lahore bombing, at police headquarters in Lahore, Pakistan on 27 May 2009, killed at least 35 people and injured 250. During the attack gunmen fired on guards then destroyed the emergency response building at the city's police headquarters. Offices used by the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency nearby also suffered damage. Pakistani accounts from the time of the attack say the three attackers who died in the attack were unidentified. Two of the attackers emerged from the Toyota van used in the attack, and fired on"