Sri Lanka back-off from hosting Pakistan-Australia series – Cricket News Update
Following the confirmation of the Sri Lankan Premier League, scheduled to start from August 10, the Lankan cricket board has decided to pull out from their earlier arrangement with the PCB in allowing http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 to host Australia in Sri Lanka.
Previously, the SLCB had shown interest in hosting the series in August after negotiating with the PCB, which wanted the Men in Green to get ample exposure on Lankan pitches before the commencement of the ICC World Twenty20.
However, with the Lankan Cricket Board recently confirming the schedule of the SLPL, they have decided to opt out of their agreement with their sub-continent rivals, and have informed the Green Shirts of their intentions.
Their secretary http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625’s mega T20 event.
"We will not have enough grounds and facilities with the SLPL being played. That is one reason. Also, if we are playing too much cricket, the wickets will not be in good condition for the World T20,” said Ranatunga.
PCB, however, has expressed its disappointment over the sudden retreat, claiming that the stance taken by their counterparts has left them with little options, to look for other alternative venues, considering the limited time period at their disposal.
"We were in negotiations to finalize http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 but due to their Premier League which is to be held in August directly clashing with our plan, we have to find another venue," said Subhan Ahmed, the PCB's chief operating officer.
"It's disappointing. Initially the SLC (Sri Lankan Cricket) offered to host the series and we stopped negotiating with others," added the PCB COO.
Despite the snub, the PCB remains adamant in staging the series before the T20 World Cup. The board official has also rejected the idea of “Isolating Pakistan Cricket”, and revealed that there were other countries which offered to host the series.
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