In a twist though, despite Sri Lanka being widely reported as the frontrunner to host the series, a fact confirmed by BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur, PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan has told media in Lahore that the venue was yet to be finalised. Khan indicated the choice was between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. He ruled out the possibility of England hosting a Pakistan-India series next summer, as was reported in Pakistan.*
"Both Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have their pluses and minuses, but we are yet to make a final decision on venues. We know Sri Lanka's biggest minus is that it rains a lot and we don't want that we go there and return without playing the game," Khan said. "Bangladesh is also a good venue as we have good board-to-board terms and we have very good public support there as well, so we are not disregarding Bangladesh either. So it will be one from those choices and there is no proposal from England as widely speculated."
The Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif's spokesman and federal information minister Pervez Rashid meanwhile told the National newspaper in Abu Dhabi: "The Prime Minister has given permission for Pakistan to play cricket matches with India in Sri Lanka."
Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada, Federal Minister of Inter Provincial Coordination, said that the PM had sought advice from his department before giving the approval. "We are all in for playing the sport with India to extend friendship at every level," Pirzada told ESPNcricinfo. "For us cricket should be played and I have advised the PM to allow them to play as this is the one way for the diplomacy. Cricket has been a tool for people-to-people contact. We have given them our advice and it now the prerogative of the PM to decide."
The series, which was finalised last weekend after a meeting between the heads of the BCCI and PCB, will be officially hosted by the PCB and is likely to comprise three ODIs and two T20s. "India-Pakistan series will happen tentatively from December 15 in Sri Lanka," Shukla told the ANI news agency on Friday.
No official confirmation could be obtained from the BCCI, with both president Shashank Manohar and board secretary Thakur not responding to calls.
On Wednesday both the BCCI and PCB had said that they were awaiting clearance from their governments in order to finalise the dates. Thakur had said that the BCCI had officially sought clearance from the Indian government via a letter he had written to the foreign ministry. Shukla's statement is a signal that the Indian government is on the verge of giving its approval.
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