Sri Lanka has emerged as the venue for Pakistan’s ‘home’ series against India after an agreement was finally reached between the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday.
An official announcement is due on November 27 after the boards get permission from their respective governments but according to a source present at the meeting, there will be no further deliberations on the venue of the much-awaited Pakistan-India series.
BCCI had made it clear that they will not play in the United Arab Emirates and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had refused to play in India, so the only feasible option left was the island nation, which will now act as the neutral venue.
The meeting between PCB chief Shaharyar Khan and BCCI president Shashank Manohar on Sunday ended in a deadlock when the issue of the venue was raised.
“Bangladesh and Sri Lanka were considered as the venues and finally it was agreed that Sri Lanka was the right choice to host the Indo-Pak series,” said the source.
The series, comprising three ODIs and two T20s, is expected to kick off on December 20, most likely in Pallekele or Colombo.
“PCB can benefit from the Indo-Pak series in Sri Lanka by earning up to Rs3 billion ahead of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) in February next year,” revealed the source.
The newly-elected president of the BCCI Shashank Manohar, who is in Dubai to familiarise with the working of the International Cricket Council (ICC) as its new chairman, invited PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan for a meeting at the ICC headquarters on Sunday.
The meeting was also attended by PCB Executive Committee head Najam Sethi and Giles Clarke, the president of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the head of a task force formed to expedite the return of cricket to Pakistan.
Pakistan and India have not played a bilateral series since 2007.
Under the MoU both the boards had agreed in 2014, six series were scheduled between 2015 and 2023, with four series to be hosted by Pakistan.
But all series were subject to clearance from the respective governments.
The December-January series comprises two Tests, five One-day Internationals and two Twenty20 Internationals but with time running out the series is likely to be shortened to limited over matches.
