Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Mohsin Naqvi met with the Sri Lankan players and support staff to show gratitude towards them for agreeing to stay back and complete the tour.

This comes after several Sri Lankan players sought to return home after a suicide blast in Islamabad on Tuesday, which killed 12 people. The incident happened before the first One-Day International match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka was to start in Rawalpindi.

However, the Sri Lankan Cricket Board stepped in, asking the players to stay put and threatening them with disciplinary action on their return from Pakistan. This saved the Pakistan board from a huge humiliation, and hence, PCB chief met with the Sri Lankan players.

He arrived at the ground on Thursday, thanked the visiting players for their decision to remain in Pakistan, and continued with the series.

“Your security is our responsibility,” Naqvi said, assuring the Sri Lankan players of full protective measures during their stay in Pakistan.

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Following the suicide attack in Islamabad, the Pakistani military chief actively intervened to save the visiting Sri Lankan cricket team's tour, according to the interior ministry.

When the Lankan cricket players showed signs of being too tired to play after the attack, Mohsin Naqvi told the Senate that Field Marshal Asim Munir mediated negotiations with senior officials from Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lanka cricket board said late last night that the team's current tour of Pakistan will continue after high-level discussions that prevented Pakistan from losing.

"Our field marshal himself spoke to their defence minister, secretary, and convinced them and assured them fully of [providing] security," Naqvi, also the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief, said while speaking on the Senate floor.

(PTI inputs)