Pakistan's 'Home' Series Against West Indies Unlikely To Be Held In Sri Lanka

Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) decision to hold its "home" series against the West Indies in Sri Lanka is unlikely to be materialised this year and the series may take place in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) itself.

A top official of the board confirmed to PTI that they had tried to relocate the series against the West Indies to either Sri Lanka or Bangladesh but it's unlikely to happen this year.

"We have been facing issues with having our "home" series in the UAE as the expenses are very high and there are other matters as well but for this year it appears we will have to stick with organising the West Indies series there," he said.

The official said that talks had been held with the Sri Lankan and Bangladesh boards and both were receptive to allowing Pakistan to host their "home" series.

"Unfortunately the current scenario in Bangladesh with reference to Pakistan is not ideal at this time and the problem with having the series in Sri Lanka is that they have heavy rains in September-October at most of their main venues," he said.

The official said this only left the PCB with the option of playing in UAE this year.

"But we are looking at other options as well for our future series," he added.

Pakistan is due to host the West Indies for two or three Tests, five One-day Internationals and T20 matches with one Test to be played in Abu Dhabi under lights with the pink ball.

Pakistan has been forced to play its "home" series at neutral venues since 2009 when militants attacked the Sri Lankan team in Lahore after which all top test teams have avoided touring Pakistan for security reasons.