Sri Lanka’s Head Coach Nic Pothas has clarified the reason behind axing his name from touring Pakistan. He said that family comes first for him. Pothas along with team’s physio Nirmalan Dhanabalasingham refused to go Pakistan for the final T20I match on October 29.

Pothas said “It was a family decision. My family is not very happy about me going. For me my family comes first. Everyone get a chance to make their own decisions. No one should be forced to do anything that they are not comfortable with. It was not an easy decision to make. It has to be respected.”

He further added “Some Pakistani media earlier today reminded me that several South Africans had gone to Lahore last month for the World XI games. It was their decision. Their decision doesn’t influence my decision. Ideally the Board wanted everyone to go. But no one pressurised me to do anything.”

The former South African player will stay with the team till Abu Dhabi games and after that, someone else from the coaching staff is expected to take over the charge.

Sri Lanka will travel Pakistan to play the third T20 International in Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium on 29 October. It is notable that no big International team has visited them since 2009.