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MPs world cup: Lanka plays safe
View(s):The Easter Sunday terrorist attacks prompted Sri Lanka’s Parliament to decline sending a team for the inaugural Inter-Parliamentary Cricket World Cup (IPCWC), the Speaker’s Office said.
The IPCWC took place in England this week in conjunction with the Cricket World Cup. Squads from the legislative assemblies of most of the countries taking part in the World Cup participated — including those from England, Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
The tournament was organised to promote relationships between Parliamentarians and to celebrate the Cricket World Cup taking place in England and Wales.
Responding to a question posed by a Twitter user as to why a team from Sri Lanka was not there, the IPCWC’s official twitter account posted that Sri Lanka had been invited but was not participating.
A Speaker’s Office spokesman said the invitation from the tournament organisers was received a few months ago, but the decision not to send an MPs’ team was taken for security reasons in the aftermath of the Easter Sunday attacks.
The four-day IPCWC tournament ended on Friday, when Pakistan beat Bangladesh by nine wickets in the final to be crowned champions.