Come and Enjoy Lahore, Mickey Arthur urges Sri Lankan players

The coach of the Pakistan cricket team Mickey Arthur has urged the players of Sri Lanka to visit Lahore for the third and final T20I of the series. There have been a lot of speculations despite ICC giving the clearance to the security arrangements in Pakistan. Even the Sri Lankan cricket board has agreed to travel Pakistan but the players are reluctant to do so. However, Arthur feels that the country is safe now and the players will enjoy the atmosphere during the game.

The game came under threat being moved to the different venue when 40 players from the visiting team expressed their reluctance to tour Pakistan. But the board stuck to their commitment and has convinced some of the players. Most of the players have reportedly softened their stance after the support staff which includes four former international cricketers agreed to visit Lahore. The match is scheduled to be played on October 29 which will eventually commence Sri Lanka’s tour.

I never felt any threat in Lahore

Mickey Arthur is confident that the people of Lahore will enjoy the presence of the players and they would be overawed by the occasion. “Come and enjoy Lahore, is my message. The people of Pakistan and the fans are going to enjoy your presence. You are going to be overawed by the occasion. It is going to be a sell out. I am incredibly excited that Sri Lanka are going to come. Having watched the World XI, the atmosphere was unbelievable,” Arthur told Cricbuzz.

“The anticipation and the excitement of the crowd was sensational. To have the World XI coming was amazing, but it will mean even more that the Sri Lankans are coming. To have a nation versus nation competition is what the fans want,” he further said. The former Australian also believed that the relations between the two countries are historically good and Lahore is the right place to play cricket. “Historically the two countries have had good relationships. The security around Lahore is second to none and I am happy the game is taking place. It is the right thing to do,” he continued.

Arthur also had a chat with the support staff of Sri Lanka and told them that he never felt any threat in the country and praised the security arrangements in Lahore. “I had a chat with Asanka (Gurusinha) and Nic (Pothas) and I told them that I had never felt any threat in Lahore at all. We are incredibly looked after. Lahore is a great city. I went and saw that they have got this thing called city safe project. They have CCTV cameras and everything is well protected,” he concluded.