COLOMBO, Dec 26: Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapakse has given the green light for the national cricket team to tour Pakistan next month in place of India, who cancelled their five-week series over the Mumbai attacks.

Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama announced the decision to go ahead after talks with President Rajapakse who sanctioned the national team’s tour from Jan 20 to Feb 25, the foreign ministry said.

“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 ministry said in a statement.

Last week, Sri Lanka Cricket, the sport’s governing body here, said they agreed to take India’s place and ask the hosts to scrap two Twenty20 games and turn them into one day matches.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had said Sri Lanka agreed to tour the country in place of India after playing in Bangladesh.

Sri Lanka are likely to play Test matches in Karachi, Lahore and Multan, while Karachi would also host the two proposed one-dayers. The remaining one-dayers would likely be played in Lahore.

Pakistan last played a Test match in December last year, against India in Bangalore.

India called off their tour of Pakistan after New Delhi refused to grant the team permission to travel across the border in the wake of last month’s attacks on Mumbai, which India has blamed on Pakistan-based militants.

The PCB said it was set to lose at least $25 million as a result of the cancellation but would recover some of the money by hosting Sri Lanka.—AFP

Our Sports Reporter adds from Lahore: As the Sri Lankan gave permission to their cricket squad to tour Pakistan, Javed Miandad, Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) Director General, told Dawn though he had not received any official information, according to the media report the Sri Lankan team was coming to Pakistan.

Miandad, a former Pakistan Test captain and coach, said a timely high-level government-to-government contact paid dividends as Pakistan succeeded in hosting a home series.

“It [the Sri Lankan team’s visit] is good for Pakistan cricket and its people who will see international cricket between these two strong teams,” Miandad said.

“I, on behalf of the PCB, would like to thank Sri Lankan president [Mahinda Rajapakse] for giving the permission to his cricket team [for touring Pakistan],” he said, adding this development is a sign of Pakistan-Sri Lanka friendship. The PCB official asserted to show the same gesture for Sri Lanka in future whenever they needed it by Pakistan.

Miandad emphasised that Sri Lanka’s decision of sending their team would also give a message to other Test-playing countries that Pakistan was a safe country.

“It is the right way to give an answer to terrorists, as England did by resuming their tour of India to play two Tests,” he said, urging Pakistanis to come to stadiums for enjoying the matches.

Asked whether the board was ready since only 24 days are left for the Sri Lanka series, Miandad said the PCB Chairman Ijaz Butt had already assigned the duties to all the departments concerned, adding the work was in progress.

Though SLC had given a positive response to the PCB offer, the sudden sacking of then president Arjuna Ranatunga by Sri Lankan Sports Minister Gamini Lokuge had put the tour in the doldrums for a brief period. Though Lokuge had said that the tour was on, he had linked it with the security clearance from the foreign office.

Sources told Dawn that first the PCB chief had talked to the Sri Lankan High Commissioner in Islamabad after Ranatunga’s sacking, involving him to convince their government to give their go-ahead for the tour.

On Friday, Miandad also talked to Pakistan’s acting High Commissioner in Sri Lanka Dr Fazal-ur-Rehman and Sri Lankan sports minister.

Sources further said the PCB was expecting an SLC decision by Tuesday, since their COO Dileep Mendis was away from the country and the sports minister had said he would take a final decision. However, President Rajapakse, after taking briefing from the foreign minister Rohitha Bogollagama in the evening gave permission.