Sri Lankan cricket team in Pakistan in 2019–20
The Sri Lankan cricket team toured Pakistan in September and October 2019 to play three One Day Internationals and three Twenty20 International matches against the Pakistan cricket team. The tour originally had two Test matches scheduled to take place, but these were moved to December 2019. Sri Lanka last played a match in Pakistan in October 2017, when the third T20I took place at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Pakistan won the ODI series 2–0, after the first match was washed out, and Sri Lanka won the T20I series 3–0.
Several players in Sri Lanka's squad opted not to travel for the series, with Lahiru Thirimanne and Dasun Shanaka named as ODI and T20I captains respectively. Despite Pakistan failing to reach the semi finals of the 2019 Cricket World Cup in England, Sarfaraz Ahmed was retained as the captain of the team for the tour, with Babar Azam named as vice-captain. Sarfaraz later said that leading the Pakistan team at home "will be one of the highlights of my career".
Following the limited overs matches, Sri Lanka returned to Pakistan in December 2019 to play two Test matches. The Test series formed part of the inaugural 2019–21 ICC World Test Championship. It was the first time in ten years that Test cricket was played in Pakistan.
The first Test match finished as a draw, with significant amounts of play lost to rain and bad light. Pakistan's Abid Ali scored 109 not out to become the first male cricketer to score a century on debut in a Test and ODI match. Following the first Test, Sri Lanka's captain Dimuth Karunaratne expressed his regret in not playing in the limited-overs matches, and said that "Pakistan is now safe for cricket". Pakistan won the second Test match by 263 runs, to give them a 1–0 series win, and their first Test victory in Pakistan in ten years. Following the win, Pakistan's Test captain Azhar Ali said that "it carried great importance and was very significant because we were playing our first home Test series".
Background
In March 2009, the Sri Lankan cricket team was attacked by gunmen ahead of the second Test match at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, and had not played a full series in Pakistan since. In May 2019, at the Asian Cricket Council meeting in Singapore, the Pakistan Cricket Board made a request to Sri Lanka Cricket to play two Test matches in Pakistan. In July 2019, the SLC sent a security expert to assess the situation in Pakistan, with Sri Lanka Cricket saying they were "likely" to play a Test match in the country. A further decision was taken by Sri Lanka after a security delegation inspects venues in Lahore and Karachi in early August 2019. The delegation gave Sri Lanka Cricket "very positive feedback", suggesting that Sri Lanka could be open to playing a Test match in Pakistan. On 22 August 2019, Sri Lanka's Sports Minister confirmed their agreement to play a three-match ODI series in Pakistan in October, but ruled out playing any Test matches.On 9 September 2019, Sri Lanka Cricket met with players who were selected in a preliminary squad for the tour, to confirm with each individual if they would travel or not to Pakistan. Dinesh Chandimal, Akila Dananjaya, Niroshan Dickwella, Dimuth Karunaratne, Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Kusal Perera, Thisara Perera and Dhananjaya de Silva all confirmed that they would not be going to Pakistan for the tour. Two days later, on the day that Sri Lanka named the squads to tour Pakistan, Sri Lanka's government received information on a possible terrorist threat on the team. Sri Lanka Cricket conducted a reassessment prior to the tour starting. The PCB ruled out moving the fixtures to a neutral venue. Ehsan Mani, chairman of the PCB, stated that "we don't have the time to shift or lookout for any other option right now", reiterating that the PCB's default position of playing the matches in Pakistan. On 19 September 2019, Sri Lanka Cricket confirmed that the tour would go ahead as planned. Two days later, the PCB appointed all the match officials for the tour.
In October 2019, the PCB proposed hosting the two Test matches in Pakistan, instead of the UAE, at venues in Rawalpindi and Karachi. Sri Lanka Cricket said that they were "very positive" with regards to the progress of playing Test cricket in Pakistan. In November 2019, the PCB confirmed the dates and venues for the Test series. As a result of the Test series being agreed, the PCB moved the dates of the final of the 2019–20 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy to accommodate the international fixtures. In November 2019, Sri Lanka named a full-strength squad for the Test matches, with only one change from their previous Test series, which was against New Zealand in August 2019. Early the following month, the International Cricket Council appointed the match officials for the Test series. Pakistan confirmed their Test squad four days ahead of the first match. Fawad Alam was recalled to Pakistan's squad, after last playing a Test for the team in November and December 2009, against New Zealand. The Sri Lankan Test squad arrived in Pakistan on 9 December 2019. No cricketer from either team had previously played Test cricket in Pakistan.
Summary
Limited-overs matches
The first ODI match at the National Stadium in Karachi was abandoned due to rain. It was the first time that an ODI match at the venue had been washed out. As a result, the Pakistan Cricket Board rescheduled the second ODI match, moving it back one day to 30 September 2019, to allow the groundstaff more time to prepare the outfield. Pakistan won both of the remaining matches to win the ODI series 2–0.In the T20I series, Sri Lanka won the first match by 64 runs, their first win against Pakistan. Sri Lanka also won the second T20I, by a margin of 35 runs, to take an unassailable lead in the series. It was Sri Lanka's first ever series win against Pakistan in a T20I bilateral series. Sri Lanka went on to win the final T20I match by 13 runs, winning the series 3–0. It was the first time in a three-match T20I series that Sri Lanka had won 3–0, and the first time that Pakistan had been whitewashed.
Afterwards, Pakistan's head coach and chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq and team captain Sarfaraz Ahmed admitted that losing a series 3–0 to a second-string side had left them with "lots of questions to answer". Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's coach, Rumesh Ratnayake, praised the hospitality and security that the team had received in Pakistan, saying that it is "a message for the whole world", with the hopes other teams would tour Pakistan again.
Test matches
In the first Test match, Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat. However, most of the match was affected by the weather, with rain and bad light impacting on the Test. Only 18.2 overs were bowled on day two, 5.2 overs on day three, and no play at all was possible on day four. Early on the fifth and final day, Sri Lanka declared their first innings, after Dhananjaya de Silva had scored his century. Pakistan's Abid Ali and Babar Azam both scored unbeaten hundreds, before the teams shook hands, with the match finishing as a draw. Abid Ali became the first male cricketer to score a century on his Test and ODI debuts.Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat in the second Test. However, they were bowled out for 191 runs inside of 60 overs. Sri Lanka then lost three wickets, ending the first day on 64/3. Sri Lanka were dismissed for 271 runs on day two, with a lead of 80 runs over the hosts. In reply, Shan Masood and Abid Ali made an opening stand of 278 runs, the second-highest partnership for the first wicket for Pakistan in a Test match. Shan Masood, Abid Ali, Azhar Ali and Babar Azam all made centuries, with Pakistan becoming only the second team in Test cricket history to have their top four batsmen to score hundreds. Pakistan eventually declared their innings on 555/3 at lunch on day four. Sri Lanka reached the end of day four with 212 runs, but for the loss of seven wickets. Pakistan only needed 16 balls on the morning of day five to dimiss Sri Lanka, with Naseem Shah taking his first five-wicket haul in Test cricket. Pakistan won the match by 263 runs, taking the two-match series 1–0. Abid Ali was named the player of the match and the player of the series.
It was Pakistan's first series win in Pakistan since beating the West Indies 2–0 in November 2006. It was also Pakistan's first series win in Pakistan against Sri Lanka since their 1–0 win in January 1992.