LAHORE:
Pakistan’s ‘home’ series against Sri Lanka scheduled for the UAE is now in jeopardy after a newspaper reporting claiming that Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) have not yet agreed to play at the chosen venues despite the arrangements having already begun.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and SLC now stand at crossroads despite the Pakistan board in possession of a receipt of confirmation and a signed business plan with the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) to host their series in the UAE.
“We haven’t been informed of the venues for the series yet,” SLC interim committee chairman Upali Dharmadasa was quoted as saying by the Daily Mirror. “In fact, the other day, I read on the BBC website that the series was confirmed to be played in Abu Dhabi. I learnt about it only then. We are going to discuss this matter at our meeting and then only we can communicate with the PCB and finalise the venues.”
The PCB formally announced the series last month adding that the same venues will also host the Pakistan-England series early next year. Dharmadasa also added that SLC will attempt to further convince Pakistan to host the series in Sri Lanka, a notion that has already been rejected by the PCB due to financial reasons.
“We are going to talk to the PCB again and try to convince them to host the series in Sri Lanka as it will give a chance for Sri Lankans to watch the matches.”
Apart from the UAE, Zimbabwe was also touted as a possible host for the series but failed to reach a deal.
“We had everything on board with Sri Lanka Cricket before making a formal announcement,” a PCB spokesperson told The Express Tribune. “I am sure there must be some sort of confusion in the SLC with the newly-appointed body as we have everything prepared and planned.”
ECB ‘surprised’ over statement
The ECB Chief Operating Officer Dilawar Mani was surprised over the strange nature of the statement by the SLC head and urged both boards to clear things.
“This is entirely between the PCB and the SLC and I have nothing to comment on but the statement by Dharmadasa surprised me,” said Mani. “We have a deal with the PCB to host Sri Lanka and England as their home series. We currently have Dubai and Abu Dhabi as venues with Sharjah currently undergoing renovation. It’s entirely up to the boards to decide on the fixtures but I can confirm that we will be hosting both series.”
The Sharjah cricket stadium holds the record for hosting the most number of One-Day Internationals in history but since 2003, when the Cricketers Benefit Fund Series had a fallout with the BCCI, no international game has been held at the venue.
Pakistan has been unfortunate as it has not hosted a full international series since the Lahore attacks in March 2009.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 24th, 2011.
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