Sri Lanka Women not to tour Pakistan in October due to change in PCB management

In what can be called a significant development, Sri Lanka Women won’t travel to Pakistan in October. Although any official schedule wasn’t announced, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) were in talks about a potential tour of Pakistan later this month. The series also looked on track earlier. However, a change in management at the PCB meant the tour hit a stumbling block.

Earlier this week, SLC had seemed confident of the tour going as per plans. As many as three ODIs and a practice game were in the pipeline. It would have been the first assignment of Sri Lanka’s women’s cricket team since the T20 World Cup in February-March last year. However, sources within PCB reckoned it won’t be feasible to arrange the fixtures on such short notice given the administrative changes the board is currently undergoing.

We’re hopeful of doing it before the World Cup: SLC CEO Ashley De Silva on Pakistan tour

It was also learnt that some of the Pakistan players were unavailable for the series. However, boards of both nations are still planning to conduct the tour ahead of the 2022 ODI World Cup. The global tournament will get underway in March next year and hence, both boards must reach a conclusion soon. SLC, for their part, are hopeful of the tour being conducted sometime before the World Cup.

“These were ongoing discussions, but with the change in management, it seems that they’re finding it difficult to find a window for us. We’re hopeful of doing it before the World Cup. If everything goes well, we will see if we can fit in before then,” SLC CEO Ashley De Silva was quoted as saying by the ESPNcricinfo.

Owing to the COVID-19 crisis, Sri Lanka’s women’s cricketers haven’t played a single international since the T20 World Cup in Australia. As they aren’t scheduled to play any other series ahead of the 50-over Cup, SLC are looking determined to send their team to Sri Lanka, providing them a substantial preparation chance.

On the other hand, Pakistan’s women’s last assignment was the tour of the West Indies in June-July earlier this year. Although the Women in Green have played after last year’s T20 World Cup, they don’t have any assignment after the upcoming global event either.