KARACHI: The Sri Lanka cricket team reached Karachi on Sunday afternoon for a ODI series against Pakistan.
Tight security greeted the Sri Lankans as they touched down at the Quaid-e-Azam international airport with the touring side due to play back to back one-day games in Karachi on Tuesday and Wednesday and the third in Lahore on Saturday before flying home to take on India.
"It is a very good sign that finally a foreign team is in Pakistan to play an international series. Hopefully this will clear the way for other teams to also tour Pakistan," said Javed Miandad, the Pakistan Cricket Board's director general.
Sri Lanka would return to Pakistan next month to play two Tests after the completion of their home series against India.
"With much difficulty we have arranged this tour as the Sri Lankans didn't want the one-day series because they were more keen to play additional matches against India. So hopefully this series will open a new chapter for Pakistan cricket," another official of the board said.
Pakistan cricket has suffered immensely because of the security situation with many teams refusing to tour last year and the International Cricket Council also postponing the prestigious Champions Trophy last September.
Miandad said efforts were on to get Australia to tour Pakistan in April and if this happened then the ICC would have no hesitation in holding the Champions Trophy as planned in September this year according to the revised schedule.