Less than 24 hours after the much-anticipated meeting between the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president, Shashank Manohar, and his Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) counterpart, Shahryar Khan, in the UAE, Sri Lanka has emerged as the likeliest neutral venue for a short series in the latter half of next month.
The final decision will be made on November 27 after Giles Clarke, an influential figure in the England and Wales Cricket Board, who has been mediating between BCCI and PCB, meets Shahryar again.
The series had hit a roadblock over the venue. The BCCI, on Manohar’s insistence, was opposed to playing in the Gulf and instead wanted the series, supposed to be hosted by Pakistan, to be played in India. Pakistan shot down the proposal citing security concerns.
It is understood that the BCCI had preferred Bangladesh as a neutral venue. However, the PCB cited lack of time for preparations considering that the Bangladesh Premier League concludes on December 15.
PCB then proposed Sri Lanka as a possible venue and the BCCI is seriously considering it. The final decision, however, will be made after government clearance from both nations.
“We wanted Bangladesh since it would have attracted more crowds, but Sri Lanka is also not a bad option. The BCCI will obviously seek a directive from the central government before committing anything,” a BCCI insider said.
The series, according to the International Cricket Council’s Future Tours Programme, was to feature two Tests and five ODIs. However, the alternative series is likely to feature three ODIs and two T20 Internationals, with a remote possibility of a Test.
The fate of the series was to be discussed between Manohar and Shahryar at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai on October 18. However, Shiv Sena members stormed into the BCCI office and forced Shahryar to return to Pakistan without meeting the BCCI chief.
The meeting eventually took place in Dubai on Sunday night. With Manohar having taken charge as ICC chairman, the BCCI chief met with Shahryar in Clarke’s presence. Manohar is understood to have shot down the UAE, which has been Pakistan’s adopted home venue since 2009, as the venue, citing match-fixing concerns.
It would be interesting to see whether TEN Sports continues to be broadcaster for the series. The BCCI has, in the past, opposed playing a series involving the sports channel, owned by a conglomerate that has been contemplating a rebel cricket league. However, the PCB has a multi-year deal with TEN for all its home series.
