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NEW DELHI: Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) stepped in by appealing to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to reconsider its decision to boycott the T20 World Cup group match against India in Colombo on February 15 local media reported.

SLC has written to the PCB, outlining the significant losses caused by Pakistan’s decision to skip their match against India. With travel and accommodation arrangements already in place, widespread hotel cancellations have dealt a blow to Colombo’s tourism sector.

Pakistan’s cricket team has been told by the government to skip the February 15 game in Colombo after Bangladesh were replaced by Scotland for refusing to play its games in India on account of “security concerns”.

The ICC has issued a stern warning to the PCB, cautioning of serious repercussions if it fails to appear for the high-profile T20 World Cup match – a fixture that generates substantial revenue for sponsors, broadcasters, and advertisers.

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According to Newswire, SLC warned PCB that any non-participation in a marquee fixture of this nature would have wide-ranging implications, including substantial financial exposure, the loss of anticipated tourism inflows, and broader economic fallout.

“The correspondence also pointed out that Sri Lanka Cricket, together with the Government of Sri Lanka, is mindful of the wider impact a boycott could have, affecting not only Sri Lanka Cricket but a broad range of stakeholders involved in ensuring the successful conduct of the tournament,” the report added.

In the letter, SLC also reminds the PCB of the role the former played in lifting Pakistan cricket out of international isolation by touring the country multiple times under “challenging and sensitive circumstances, including periods marked by serious security incidents, when other cricketing nations were hesitant to do so”.

It was a reference to the period when teams stopped touring Pakistan following the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore in 2009.

As per the Sri Lanka news website, SLC said it expects the same spirit of reciprocity to prevail, noting that Sri Lanka has extended full assurances on security, neutrality, and professionalism for all matches hosted in the country.