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Hope is dim for Pak-SL series: Naghmi
A senior official of the Pakistan Cricket Board on Tuesday said he saw little chance of Pakistan playing a one-day series in Sri Lanka this month.
- Press Trust of India
- Updated: September 13, 2008 06:09 PM IST
Read Time:2 min
Karachi:
Shafqat Naghmi, the Chief Operating officer, said he did not see any chance of Pakistan playing in international cricket before October when they take part in a Twenty20 four-nation event in Toronto.
"I have nearly given up hope of Sri Lanka hosting the series. There are too many issues related to it. We have tried our best to arrange something for our team after the postponement of the Champions Trophy but it has not worked," said Naghmi, who is in Dubai to attend a two-day ICC Chief Executives' meeting beginning from Wednesday.
Pakistan tried to convince Sri Lanka to host them for a one-day series after South Africa rejected a proposal to host a tri-series this month.
Pakistan has been desperate to play international cricket after their calendar being upset with the postponement of Australia's Test tour in March and then the Champions Trophy due to security reasons.
The Champions Trophy which was to be held from September 12 in Lahore and Karachi has been rescheduled to 2009 by the ICC Executive Board.
But a new problem has cropped up after India, South Africa and Australia announced they would host the second edition of the Champions League T20 event in September-October next year.
The Champions League is contested by the top two teams of the Indian Premier League and the Twenty20 domestic champions from five countries.
Naghmi said Pakistan was worried with the clash of dates between the Champions League and the Champions Trophy but this issue had to be resolved by the ICC as it was their event.
"In the meeting to follow obviously this is going to be discussed in detail and the future tour programme will also be scrutinised to find some time slot for the Champions Trophy next year," Naghmi said.
He made it clear that in this week's meeting the ICC will only formalise dates for the eight-nation event but a decision on whether it can be held in Pakistan would be taken next year in March.
"At present the Champions Trophy is very much to be held in Pakistan and any discussion on the venue would be done next year," he stated.
A senior official of the Pakistan Cricket Board on Tuesday said he saw little chance of Pakistan playing a one-day series in Sri Lanka this month.Shafqat Naghmi, the Chief Operating officer, said he did not see any chance of Pakistan playing in international cricket before October when they take part in a Twenty20 four-nation event in Toronto.
"I have nearly given up hope of Sri Lanka hosting the series. There are too many issues related to it. We have tried our best to arrange something for our team after the postponement of the Champions Trophy but it has not worked," said Naghmi, who is in Dubai to attend a two-day ICC Chief Executives' meeting beginning from Wednesday.
Pakistan tried to convince Sri Lanka to host them for a one-day series after South Africa rejected a proposal to host a tri-series this month.
Pakistan has been desperate to play international cricket after their calendar being upset with the postponement of Australia's Test tour in March and then the Champions Trophy due to security reasons.
The Champions Trophy which was to be held from September 12 in Lahore and Karachi has been rescheduled to 2009 by the ICC Executive Board.
But a new problem has cropped up after India, South Africa and Australia announced they would host the second edition of the Champions League T20 event in September-October next year.
The Champions League is contested by the top two teams of the Indian Premier League and the Twenty20 domestic champions from five countries.
Naghmi said Pakistan was worried with the clash of dates between the Champions League and the Champions Trophy but this issue had to be resolved by the ICC as it was their event.
"In the meeting to follow obviously this is going to be discussed in detail and the future tour programme will also be scrutinised to find some time slot for the Champions Trophy next year," Naghmi said.
He made it clear that in this week's meeting the ICC will only formalise dates for the eight-nation event but a decision on whether it can be held in Pakistan would be taken next year in March.
"At present the Champions Trophy is very much to be held in Pakistan and any discussion on the venue would be done next year," he stated.
Topics mentioned in this article
Cricket New Zealand Cricket Team Pakistan Cricket Team
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