COLOMBO, Aug 29: Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Tyronne Fernando left for Bhutan Thursday on a mission to introduce professional cricket to the Himalayan kingdom, officials said.

Fernando, who is a former president of the Sri Lankan Cricket Board, is travelling to Bhutan with former Test cricketer turned coach Roshan Mahanama and cricket administrator Jayantha Paranathala.

A cricket coaching program will be conducted under a “technical cooperation” arrangement of the seven member South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the foreign ministry here said.

The foreign ministry said that Bhutan had asked Sri Lanka for help to improve its cricket during the 11th summit of SAARC leaders held in January in Nepal.—AFP