The practice session at Pakistan Cricket Colombo has been canceled today following the imposition of curfew due to the tense political situation in Sri Lanka.
The Pakistan team is in Sri Lanka to play a 2-Test series where the situation is getting tense with each passing day and the government has imposed a curfew to control the situation.
The Pakistan cricket team’s practice session was scheduled to be held at the KP Sara Oval Stadium in Colombo, but the training session was canceled due to the unpleasant situation.
According to Pakistan Cricket Board sources, due to the tense situation in Colombo, the national team will offer Eid prayers inside the Cinnamon Grand Hotel in Colombo.
Given the current situation in Sri Lanka, the national team’s series against Sri Lanka also seems to be coming to a halt, although the Australian team is currently playing a series in Sri Lanka, but the situation is likely to worsen after the recent raids on the president’s residence in Sri Lanka and tensions with the police.
Thousands of protesters stormed the president’s official residence in Colombo, Sri Lanka’s commercial capital, on Saturday, breaking through police barricades.
Hundreds of protesters were seen on a Facebook live stream from inside the president’s house, some of them wrapped in flags, gathered in rooms and corridors chanting slogans against Gotabaya Raja Paksa.
Hundreds of people also gathered on the ground outside the white colonial building where no security personnel were seen.
With a population of 22 million, the island is struggling with a severe foreign exchange shortage that has limited imports of fuel, food and medicine, and is facing its worst economic crisis since independence in 1948.
Many blame President Gotabaya Raja Paksa for the country’s decline and have been demanding his resignation in protests since March.
Public dissatisfaction has intensified in recent weeks as the cash-strapped country has stopped receiving fuel, forcing schools to close and stockpiling petrol and diesel for essential services.
Team will compete in a three-day practice match from July 11 to 13 before the first Test in Galle.
The first Test of the series will be played in Galle from July 16 to 20, while the second will be played in Colombo from July 24 to 28.
Pakistan last visited Sri Lanka in 2015 and won the Test series 1-2.