Karunaratne, who had earlier refused to visit Pakistan, said he is happy with the security arrangements made by the host country and feels safe. Photo: Geo.tv/handoutSri Lanka’s Test captain Dimuth Karunaratne on Monday expressed his approval of the security arrangements made for his team in Pakistan and hoped that other teams will also start touring the country soon.Karunaratne, who had earlier refused to visit Pakistan, said he is happy with the security arrangements made by the host country and feels safe.“It is my first time in Pakistan. We didn’t come earlier, but the comments we got from the players who came for white-ball cricket were encouraging, and they were happy about the security. That’s why we all decided to come here,” he said.“And when we [came] here, we saw everyone enjoy and [get] very good security. We also went shopping. I think it is safe and we can also go out. Hopefully, we will see other cricketing nations start touring Pakistan in a couple of years,” Karunaratne added.The 31-year-old was among the 10 Sri Lankan cricketers who had earlier refused to tour Pakistan in October for the T20I and ODI series due to security reasons.Pakistan had beaten Sri Lanka in the ODIs; however, a young Sri Lankan team had outclassed the hosts 3-0 in the three-match T20I series.The visiting team's captain added that his side will give their best in the Karachi Test, from which they aim to achieve all the ICC Test Championship on offer.“It’s a Test championship game and you have to get the maximum points. Unfortunately, we could not play much cricket in the first Test, [but] hopefully we’ll have all five days of cricket in Karachi,” he said.“For ODIs, you have the Asia Cup, World Cup, Champions Trophy and other tournaments."There was no such thing in Test Cricket. So, the ICC Test championship has provided a Test tournament, [which] has made Test cricket very interesting and every game has become important,” Karunaratne responded when asked about how the tournament has shaped up the future of Test Cricket.
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