Neutral venue: SLC deny confirming UAE series with Pakistan

Monday, 25 July 2011 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Lahore, (ANI): 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, Express News reports.

“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.

He added: “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.”

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,” he added.