Imagine this. The Indian cricket team is on tour in Pakistan. On the eve of a match, a terrorist attack rocks the very city where they are scheduled to play. A dozen people are killed. The players, understandably shaken, want to return home.
Now imagine the BCCI threatening them, saying that anyone who withdraws will face disciplinary action. Absurd? Unthinkable? Well, that is exactly what’s happening right now with the Sri Lankan cricket team.
Playing Through Fear
A suicide bombing in Islamabad killed 12 people earlier this week. The Sri Lankan team, in Pakistan for a bilateral series, expressed their wish to call off the tour midway and return home. One ODI had already been played; the players simply wanted to prioritise their safety.
But instead of showing empathy or understanding, the Sri Lanka Cricket Board (SLC) issued a chilling statement: the tour will continue as planned. Any player who refuses to comply will face a “formal review”, and replacements will be sent immediately. In other words - stay, play, or face punishment.
Sri Lanka Cricket Statement
"Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) was informed by the team management this morning that several members of the national team currently touring Pakistan have requested to return home, citing safety concerns.
"Following this development, SLC immediately engaged with the players and assured them that all such concerns are being duly addressed in close coordination with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the relevant authorities to ensure the safety and well-being of every member of the touring party. In this context, SLC has instructed all players, support staff, and team management to continue with the tour as scheduled."
“Should any player or member of the touring party decide to return to Sri Lanka despite the directive issued by SLC to continue with the tour, Sri Lanka Cricket will immediately send replacements to ensure that the tour continues without interruption."
"If any player, players, or member of the support staff return despite SLC’s directives, a formal review will be conducted to assess their actions, and an appropriate decision will be made upon the conclusion of the review,” it said.
A History Written in Blood
The irony is as dark as it gets. This is the same Sri Lanka Cricket Board whose team barely escaped the 2009 Lahore terror attack, when gunmen ambushed their bus on its way to the Gaddafi Stadium.
That day could have ended in catastrophe and the scars of that morning are still etched in the minds of those who lived through it. But 15 years later, it seems those lessons have been forgotten.
What could possibly justify forcing players to remain in a country that has just witnessed a deadly terror attack? A bilateral series? A broadcast contract? Commitments to a cricket board desperate to project “normalcy”?
For a board that once saw its own players dodging bullets, to now dismiss their fears as “inconvenient” is not just tone-deaf, it’s morally indefensible. Is a match, a series, or even a broadcast deal really worth more than human lives?
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