The much talked about Sri Lanka’s FTP tour of Pakistan will now be played in three locations in all probabilities. However the tour on principal is confirmed.
It is learned that already the two cricket administrations have agreed upon Abu Dhabi and Dubai, but the Sharjah leg is still under consideration by the Pakistani authorities.
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| Pakistan tour |
The Sri Lanka team is scheduled to leave the country on October 15 and the tour will go on till mid-November.
If the tour goes off as scheduled the three Test matches will be played one each at Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah and the five ODIs will be played 2 in Dubai, 2 in Abu Dhabi and a game in Sharjah.
The tour was forced to be shifted out of Pakistan as a result of the Lankan team bus being attacked by terrorists in the city of Lahore in 2009.
Thereafter no international cricket (besides Afghanistan) team has toured the beleaguered cricket destination and even the 2011 Cricket World Cup was moved out of the country and the matches shared between the other three hosts Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh.
Sharjah was a very popular cricketing destination in the 1980s, but a string of scandals that followed saw the venue being dropped from the international list.
The last Test match in Sharjah was played way back in 2002 when Pakistan played the West Indies while last ODI involving two test playing nations was worked off on April 10, 2003 when Pakistan took on Zimbabwe in the final of the Cheri Blossom Sharjah Cup. The other teams that took part in this tournament were Sri Lanka and Kenya.
Currently Afghanistan uses Sharjah as their home venue.
T-20 World Championship final 2012
It is also learned that the ICC has confirmed the 2012 T-20 World Championship which is scheduled to be played in Sri Lanka will be played at Pallekelle, Hambantota and at the R. Premadasa Stadium.
R. Premadasa Stadium was used by the ICC to stage one of the 2011 World Cup semi-finals early this year and Sri Lanka took on New Zealand in that game.
The final of the championship will be worked of at the Premadasa Stadium.
However the women’s T-20 championship which will be played concurrently will be worked off at the Galle Cricket Stadium. |
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