India threatened SL players to refuse Pakistan tour: Fawad Chaudhry

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry has claimed India threatened Sri Lanka (SL) players over not playing in Pakistan, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

In a post on Twitter, Chaudhry said, according to the reports India threatened SL players that they’ll be ousted from IPL if they don’t refuse Pakistan visit.

Informed sports commentators told me that India threatened SL players that they ll be ousted from IPL if they don’t refuse Pak visit, this is really cheap tactic, jingoism from sports to space is something we must condemn, really cheap on the part of Indian sports authorities

— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) September 10, 2019

“This is really cheap tactic, jingoism from sports to space is something we must condemn, really cheap on the part of Indian sports authorities,” the minister said in his tweet.

It may be noted that Sri Lankan team’s senior players had refused to travel to Pakistan later this month to play three T20Is and as many ODIs.

Lasith Malinga, Dimuth Karunaratne, Angelo Mathews, Suranga Lakmal and 10 other players have decided to withdraw from the tour of Pakistan.

The Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) gave a briefing to 30 players about the team’s tour to Pakistan. The board officials made sure to rope in the players’ interest to play in Pakistan.