LONDON: Members of Sri Lanka's national cricket team have cancelled a planned
appearance at Oxford University because of security concerns, officials said
Friday.
Spinner Muttiah Muralitharan and wicket keeper Kumar Sangakkara were due to
visit the Oxford Union debating society alongside team manager Brendon Kuruppu
Friday.
But the Oxford Union said in a statement that the visit had been cancelled after
Britain's Times newspaper reported that more than 20,000 Tamil civilians were
killed during Sri Lanka's recent offensive against the Tamil Tigers.
"This afternoon, the Sri Lankan cricket team's security advisers have informed
us that, due to the heightened threat levels posed by today's Times front page,
they have decided to cancel this afternoon's visit by Muttiah Muralitharan,
Kumar Sangakkara and their manager, Brendon Kuruppu," it said.
"This is obviously extremely disappointing and we apologise profusely for it."
The Times report has been dismissed by the Sri Lankan government, which said the
figures were "way out."
In March, gunmen in Lahore in Pakistan, ambushed the Sri Lankan team bus en
route to a stadium where they were due to continue a test match against
Pakistan.
Seven Sri Lankan players and their British assistant coach Paul Farbrace were
injured in the attack. Eight Pakistanis, including six security force personnel,
were killed. |
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