Lanka to finalise Pakistan itinerary by Friday
Posted on Jan 06, 2009 at 18:04
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Karachi: Sri Lanka Cricket will by Friday finalise the itinerary for its tour of Pakistan after the host country asked them to speed up their decision making, a senior official of the Pakistan Cricket Board said on Tuesday.
"We had conveyed to them we just want to play maximum international cricket and they should finalise the itinerary soon," Altaf said.
"They have confirmed the tour but they say they would finalise the itinerary by Friday," Saleem Altaf, Chief Operating Officer of PCB told PTI.
There are indications the Sri Lankans, who are keen to host India for a one-day series in January or February, might first tour Pakistan for a one-day series and then come in late February for a Test series.
But it is obvious that their delay in finalising the itinerary for their Pakistan series has something to do with their desire to play India as well.
Altaf said Pakistan was not concerned with what plans Sri Lanka had about playing against India in the coming weeks. He said there was no doubt over the tour taking place and said so far the Sri Lankans had also not talked about splitting the tour into two parts in writing.
"But if they come up with a suggestion we will look into it because our main purpose is to organise some international cricket at home," Altaf said. Meanwhile, India is waiting for an answer from New Zealand to add an extra Test to their confirmed two-Test series in March.
Altaf said Pakistan was prepared to host Sri Lanka and then Australia in the coming months but insisted they were keen that Sri Lanka finalised the itinerary as soon as possible.
"We need to get all logistical details into place for the one-day and Test matches," he added.
Pakistan invited Sri Lanka for a series after India had cancelled their scheduled Test tour to Pakistan from January 4 due to the strained relations between the two countries after the Mumbai terror attacks in late November.
Altaf said Pakistan Board was also working out more series in the coming months before the Twenty20 World Cup in England in summer.
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