Colombo : Pakistan’s under-19 team tour to Sri Lanka has been postponed due to Easter Sunday suicide bombings that killed 253 in the island country, a cricket board (SLC) source told Saturday.
The Islamic State group , ISIS , has claimed responsibility for the suicide bomb attacks on three churches and four hotels.
The Pakistan under-19 side, captained by Rohail Nazir, was scheduled to land Sri Lanka on April 30 to play two four-day matches, followed by three one-dayers. Galle and Hambantota were the venues for the matches.
“The request was to postpone it for a short time,” the source said referring to last Sunday’s attack.
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There were more deaths in Sri Lanka after a shootout between troops and suspected Islamist militants erupted on Friday evening in Sainthamaruthu in Ampara district, to the south of the town of Batticaloa, site of one of the Easter Sunday blasts.
Authorities have warned there could be more attacks targeting religious centres following the bombings, which shattered the relative calm that Buddhist-majority Sri Lanka had enjoyed since a civil war against mostly-Hindu ethnic Tamil separatists ended a decade ago.
The U.S. State Department, warning that terrorist groups were continuing to plot attacks, urged citizens to reconsider travel to Sri Lanka.
Pakistan’s under-19 side are scheduled to tour South Africa for seven 50-over matches from June 19-July 7 as part of their preparations for next year’s World Cup in the same country.
