LAHORE, Pakistan: Zimbabwe will continue its tour to Pakistan and play the last scheduled one day international (ODI) against green shirts at the Qaddafi Stadium in Lahore on May 31 despite the suicide bombing.
PTV Sports: It raised fears that Zimbabwe tour to Pakistan might come to an end before the schedule after a blast occurred outside the Qaddafi Stadium which later the Federal Information Minister Pervaiz Rasheed confirmed was a suicide blast.
The blast which left two persons including a police sub-inspector dead took place on Friday while the second ODI between Pakistan and Zimbabwe was being played.
The information minister told media that the attack was foiled by a police sub-inspector who stopped the suicide bomber outside the stadium before he could reach his target. Two persons including the police official lost their lives while six other people sustained injuries, the minister told.
The incident did not affect the match as it continued till the end but raised security concerns for the visiting Zimbabwe team.
However, Zimbabwe said that it will continue its cricket tour of Pakistan despite the suicide bombing outside the playing venue.
“The Zimbabwe tour of Pakistan ends tomorrow,” Zimbabwe Cricket said in a statement on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the security for the visiting team has been beefed up further.
PTV Sports Live Reported that It was the first tour by a test playing international team to Pakistan after March 2009 when the Sri Lankan Cricket Team was attached in Lahore. Subsequently, no international cricket event happened in Pakistan for six years and the PCB was forced to organize home series at neutral venues mostly in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Both Pakistan and Zimbabwe will face each other for the last time on Sunday as part of the bilateral series. Pakistan have already won the three-match series 2-0 while it also secured victory in both T20 internationals against Zimbabwe played during the current tour.
