KARACHI (Reuters) – Kenya’s national cricket team arrived in Lahore amid tight security yesterday for the most high-profile series in Pakistan since a March 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka team.
The Kenyan players and officials were whisked away under police escort to the National Cricket Academy adjacent to the Pakistan board headquarters at the Gaddafi stadium.
Kenya, who will play five one-day matches against a Pakistan A side, are only the second team to play international cricket in the country since tours were suspended after militants attacked the Sri Lankans in Lahore.
Six Pakistani policemen and a van driver were killed in that attack while some Sri Lanka players and a Pakistani umpire, Ahsan Raza, sustained injuries.
Although Afghanistan have played a couple of low profile series in Pakistan since 2009, a senior PCB official told Reuters the Kenyan visit was much more significant.
“We are doing everything to ensure we don’t have a repeat of the 2009 incident. We are coordinating closely with the police and government to provide top security to the visitors,” PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan said.
