PCB writes to Sri Lanka asking if it can host Pakistan vs West Indies series

Karachi: Pakistan Cricket Board has officially written to its Sri Lankan counterpart, asking if the island nation would agree to host Pakistan's "home" series against the West Indies this year.

A well-placed source in the PCB told PTI that a letter had been sent to Sri Lanka Cricket in this regard.

"The PCB is waiting for an official response from the Sri Lanka Cricket to decide its future action as its only concern now is whether the weather in Sri Lanka in September-October will permit a hassle free series," the source said.

The source said the SLC officials had already indicated verbally they had no issues in hosting the series against the West Indies.

"Both the Boards now have to decide the protocol through which Pakistan can host the series in Sri Lanka," he added.

In 2002, Sri Lanka had hosted a "home" Test series of Pakistan against Australia in Colombo but due to the monsoon season issue, the PCB has inquired from the SLC which venues would be relatively dry in September-October.

The PCB has been forced to look at other options to organise its "home" series since it has been unable to make any handsome profits in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah since 2009 mainly due to the high expenses involved in organising these series in the Emirates, negligible gate money receipts and inability to find right sponsors.

When it hosted its inaugural Pakistan Super League in Dubai and Sharjah last February, the PCB apparently had to pay nearly USD 3 million as ground rent and other expenses to the Emirates Cricket Board.

The PCB has been forced to host its "home" series regularly in the UAE after the militant attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore in March 2009, leading to Test teams refusing to tour the country because of security concerns.

Since 2009, the PCB has only hosted short limited over series at home against lowly ranked teams like Zimbabwe, Kenya and Afghanistan.