Former Sri Lanka Rugby Union President Senior DIG Nimal Lewke believes that the country’s newly acquired image of being a state free of terrorism should be capitalized on to obtain the rights to host international sports events.

Lewke told ‘The Island’ that the Sri Lanka Government and the Ministry of Tourism should aggressively promote Sri Lanka as venues for international cricket matches.

"I believe Sri Lanka has everything to make a bid to host the next chapter of the IPL series. Cricket is so popular in the sub continent and if Sri Lanka can host the next IPL, spectators will flood the island to catch the cricket," he said.

Lewke said that since the menace of terrorism has been wiped out, the government should tie up with the Ministry of Tourism to promote it as a tourist destination.

This year, South Africa, as the host nation, rode on the success of the inaugural IPL held in India, in 2008 and had a decent tournament. As many as 15 top Sri Lankan national cricketers were offered slots in six out of the eight teams that contested the championship this year, in South Africa.

India couldn’t host the second edition of the IPL this year and had to shift the venue to South Africa due to security concerns.

Lewke said that Sri Lanka’s ability in combating terrorism had received global recognition. "The International Permanent Observatory, which looks into security at major international events, obtained the views of the Sri Lanka Special Task Force at the Beijing Olympics. So, Sri Lanka has received recognition from the perspective of planning for security at major events," said Lewke.

Lewke recalled how he made a successful bid for Sri Lanka to host the last Asian Rugby Tournament, in 2007. "The IRB was reluctant to grant us hosting rights, but we managed to convince them that we as the hosts were capable of providing the required security for the teams participating at the tournament. Finally, about 25 countries took part in the tournament and we had a successful championship," he said.

Lewke said that it was of prime importance now to focus on strengthening the economy and the ideal thing to do, to form the launching pad for that, is to combine sports with tourism.

He said that IPL boss Lalith Modi would be delighted if he knew what Sri Lanka could offer participating teams and spectators as a tourist destination. "Tourists have to fear nothing now that terrorism has been wiped out. Even in the past, terrorists never targeted tourists who visited Sri Lanka because they needed the support of the international community. If other countries want to help Sri Lanka at this juncture they should encourage tourists to visit this country," said Lewke.

He said that cricket authorities in Sri Lanka are assured of obtaining the required support to make a bid to host the next IPL because the President of the country is an ardent sports fan.