South Africa have pulled out of the limited-overs tri-series against India and hosts Sri Lanka due to security concerns after a deadly bombing, a Sri Lankan cricket official said on Wednesday.
”South Africa have told us they want to pull out. It is unfortunate but true,” Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) media manager Samantha Algama said.
A South African source said earlier: ”The players are in no mood to play the series. We are just waiting for the green signal to fly home.”
The Proteas were due to issue a formal statement later on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka have asked India to play a bilateral one-day series following South Africa’s withdrawal, Algama said.
”We have asked India to play five one-dayers in lieu of the tri-series and they have promised to get back to us on Thursday,” he said.
”Sri Lanka are very grateful to India for helping us in a crisis.”
South Africa had indicated on Tuesday they wanted to return home after Monday’s blast close to their team hotel, which killed seven people and injured eight.
The Proteas had, however, agreed to extend their stay in Colombo pending the security assessment by the International Cricket Council, which was expected to be announced later on Wednesday.
India decided not to cancel their tour following increased security and positive indications from New Delhi’s diplomatic mission in Colombo.
South Africa played a two-Test series in Sri Lanka earlier on their tour without incident. The home team won both matches against the depleted tourists, missing captain Graeme Smith and all-rounder Jacques Kallis.
The tri-series, which was scheduled to start on Monday, did not see a ball being bowled in the first two matches.
The original opener between South Africa and Sri Lanka was rained off on Monday and cancelled again on Tuesday following South Africa’s reluctance to play amid security fears.
The next match between India and Sri Lanka was abandoned on Wednesday because of wet ground conditions at the Premadasa stadium.
This is not the first time a foreign cricket team have withdrawn from Sri Lanka over security fears.
New Zealand abandoned their tour in 1987 after a blast in Colombo’s Pettah region, which houses the main bus and train stations, killed 110 civilians and two police officers.
The New Zealanders suffered another shock in 1992 when a blast outside their team hotel in Colombo killed the country’s Naval chief Clancy Fernando. However, they went ahead with their two Test matches and three one-dayers.
Australia and the West Indies refused to play their World Cup matches in Sri Lanka in 1996 when a powerful bomb in downtown Colombo, blamed on rebel Tamil Tigers, killed 91 and injured 1 400 a few days before the tournament. — AFP
