Sri Lanka's Pakistan tour cleared: Cricinfo

Sri Lanka's president Mahinda Rajapakse has cleared the national team's tour of Pakistan next month. The series had been confirmed by the Pakistan board last week but its status became uncertain after the Sri Lankan interim board, headed by Arjuna Ranatunga, was dissolved on Tuesday by the country's sports minister Gamini Lokuge.

Sri Lanka's foreign minister Rohitha Bogollagama announced the decision to tour after talks with President Mahinda Rajapakse. The foreign ministry said in a statement, "Minister Bogollagama is of the view that sport is an effective means of promoting connectivity between nations and thereby enhancing friendship and mutual goodwill between countries." The tour, it said, is scheduled to run from January 20 to February 25,

Unsurprisingly, the decision has been welcomed by a Pakistan starved of top-flight, international cricket. Javed Miandad, director general PCB, asked people to come out and watch the series. "Not only the cricket fraternity but the whole of Pakistan is thankful to the Sri Lankan president for clearing their tour to Pakistan," he told AFP

"I hope more and more people come to watch Sri Lanka play in Pakistan because we want to prove to the world that Pakistan is safe and secure for cricket," he added. His views were echoed by Shoaib Malik, Pakistan's captain. "It's great news. It will give us some much needed international cricket and we are determined to do well."

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Sri Lanka pads up for Pakistan: Herald Sun

SRI Lanka's cricket team will tour Pakistan next month in place of India, which cancelled the five-week series over the Mumbai attacks.

"We have a duty as a friendly neighbour in the region to help Pakistan when it is needed most," Sri Lanka Cricket head Arjuna Ranatunga said.

A Sri Lankan spokesman said it had agreed to take India's place and asked the host to scrap two Twenty20 games and replace them with one-day matches.

Sri Lanka is likely to play Test matches in Karachi, Lahore and Multan, while Karachi would host the two proposed one-dayers

Pakistan last played a Test match in December last year, against India in Bangalore.
The Pakistan Cricket Board said it was set to lose at least $35 million as a result of India's cancellation.

IAIN O'Brien was rewarded with a career-best haul as New Zealand turned the screws on the West Indies at McLean Park in Napier yesterday.

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Pakistan guarantor of Lanka's sovereignty: Asian Tribune

Tue, 2008-08-05 05:34 

By Janaka Perera in Colombo

Colombo, 05 August, (Asiantribune.com): Sri Lanka Broadcasting Chairman Hudson Samarasinghe said yesterday (August 4) that India cannot threaten and bulldoze her way into Sri Lanka in the same way she did in 1987 because the world has changed much since then. 

Samarasinghe recalled how the Indians – during the "Operation Vadamarachchi" - 'appealed' to the then Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranasinghe Premadasa, "Please tell your President to stop the war" That was the start of the Indian interference that prevented Sri Lanka from nipping the Tiger menace in the bud. (Premadasa, along with the National Security Minister Lalith Athulathmudali, was among the strongest opponents of Indian intervention). 

The SLBC Chairman made this observation during his usually hard-hitting, daily news analysis over the Isira Sinhala Radio Channel of which he is the CEO. Participating with him in the program regularly is Shan Wickremasinghe, Chairman / Proprietor, Teleshan Networks Limited (TNL) which operates Isira.

Samarasinghe however stressed the need for Sri Lanka to prepare to defend herself if Tamil Nadu one fine day secedes from India. In the event of TN becoming an independent State there is absolutely no doubt that she will invade Sri Lanka over the Tamil issue, he warned. 

These comments came in the wake of the reported results of a recent survey conducted by the Tamil Nadu magazine 'Ananda Vikatan' which stated that 54.25 percent of people there support the LTTE and that many of them were proud that the Tigers possessed a standing army.

Samarasinghe also drew attention to the BBC report on Tamil National Alliance Leader R. Sambandan meeting Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his Sri Lanka visit. Sambandan has reportedly told the Indian Premier that if the LTTE is branded a terrorist organization then the Sri Lankan government was a terrorist organization three times over.

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