Sri Lanka cricketers opting out of the upcoming Pakistan tour have left the hosting fraternity fuming. Former players including Saeed Ajmal and Faisal Iqbal have strongly condemned this act, stating that those who are not willing to visit Pakistan with their national teams, should be banned from the Pakistan Super League (PSL).

“I was very hurt when these Sri Lankan players backed out of the tour because the security situation in our country has improved a lot. Our board or government would never ask anyone to play in Pakistan unless they were not sure they could provide the best security environment,” Ajmal said to a Pakistani news channel.

“I think those Sri Lankan players or foreigners who can come for the PSL matches should also tour with their national teams. And if anyone refuses to come with their teams they should not be included in the PSL draft,” he added.

Iqbal, on the other hand, said that it’s been a decade since the Sri Lankan team bus was attacked by terrorists and it was time to move on.

“I was in the Pakistan team when the attack took place but since then things have changed, many international players have come and played in Pakistan. Sri Lankan players have come and played in the PSL. So there was no reason for these 10 Sri Lankan players to back out of the tour,” he said.