With India yet to commit to a bilateral series with Pakistan, the Pakistan Cricket Board on Monday said it will initiate talks with Bangladesh and Sri Lanka for a possible home series during the winter this year, PTI reported.
As per the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Board of Control for Cricket in India and PCB, India and Pakistan are scheduled to play a full Test series in December this year. But India has refused to commit and PCB does not feel the stance will change this year. The two teams have not played a bilateral series since 2007.
The PCB, meanwhile, is confident it can host Bangladesh or Sri Lanka in the slot reserved for the series against India.
“Hopefully we will see either Bangladesh or Sri Lanka in Pakistan this winter,” said Najam Sethi, chief of PCB’s executive Board. “We have opened up discussions with them and are confident now after the successful hosting of the Pakistan Super League final in Lahore,” he said.
The report cited an unnamed PCB official as saying that Pakistan did not harbor any hopes of India fulfilling its commitment of playing the series.
“We don’t see the situation changing this year and we are also planning to move ahead with our legal recourse against them to get compensation for the number of times they have not fulfilled their commitments of giving us home series,” the source said.
The PCB has claimed to have lost nearly $200 million in revenues due to India’s refusal to allow Pakistan to host two series.
