The Pakistan Cricket Board says it has received approval from the government to play India in Sri Lanka in a limited-overs series next month.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif gave the OK on Thursday, and the PCB announced it on Friday.
The PCB says details of the short series will be announced “once the BCCI gives a go-ahead for it.
The confusion surrounding the imminent Pak-India series had been amplified due to difference of opinion within the Indian government.
“It appears that the Indian government is divided over this issue. The relevant ministry has conveyed to the BCCI to go ahead. But the opposing group is saying there is no decision.” He added that it is being made more into a political issue than a matter of cricketing ties.
Pakistan and India’s cricket boards have faced a deadlock for months on a venue for the series. India had refused to play in the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan rejected the Indian board’s proposal to play the series in India.
According to the ICC’s schedule, Pakistan are to host India in the UAE for a full tour comprising two Tests, five ODIs and two T20Is this year.
But India has ruled out the option of playing in the UAE despite Pakistan’s insistence. Pakistan has been hosting teams in the UAE for years due to security threats in its own territory, but so far India has not made clear the reason for its reluctance to play there.
Giles Clarke, who heads International Cricket Council’s Pakistan Task Force, organised a meeting in Dubai between the heads of two cricket boards last week where Sri Lanka was chosen as the venue.
The series is one of six agreed between the PCB and BCCI under a Memorandum of Understanding signed last year when PM Manmohan Singh-led government gave its go-ahead for the series.
Later the BCCI said it will have to get permission from their new Modi-led government for the said series.
India called off most sporting fixtures between the rivals after the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which it says were planned by militants in Pakistan.
The two countries played a bilateral series when Misbah-ul-Haq and company toured India for a short limited-overs series (comprising three ODIs and two Twenty20s) in Dec-Jan 2012-13. Pakistan won the ODI series 2-1 while the T20 rubber ended in 1-1 stalemate.
Pakistan last played a full series in India in 2007 while India last toured Pakistan in 2006.
