He said there is a need for the establishment of a small Naval force to undertake Sri Lanka’s responsibilities jointly with other nations towards ensuring the freedom of navigation from Channel to the Malacca and Indonesian straits The Prime Minister made direct reference to China’s interest in building ports in Sri Lanka and elsewhere in south Asia, which has “raised concerns of a possible Chinese long-term plan to extend its sea power to the Indian Ocean”.
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“The request came from the Pakistan Cricket Board who are the hosts to interim committee chairman Sidath Wettimuny”, said SLC vice-president Kushil Gunasekera was quoted as saying.
The matches are to be played at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo and at the Pallekele worldwide Stadium in Kandy.
Shaharyar said that he would not be travelling back to Dubai on November 25, as originally planned, to meet European Central Bank president Giles Clarke, who is acting as a mediator between PCB and BCCI. Pallekele’s schedule is wide open in the window for the Pakistan-India series.
An official announcement is due at the end of this month after the boards get permission from their respective governments but according to a source present at the meeting, there will be no further deliberations on the venue of the much-awaited Pakistan-India series.
Things have moved fast since BCCI president Shashank Manohar and PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan met at the ICC headquarters in Dubai on Sunday afternoon to break the deadlock over where the series should be held.
The BCCI had previously made it clear that the Indian team would not play in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) refused to play in India.
Under a Memorandum of Understanding signed by the two countries, both the boards had agreed to play six series between 2015 and 2023, with four series to be hosted by Pakistan. The December-January series comprises two Tests, five One-day Internationals and two Twenty20 Internationals but with time running out the series is likely to be shortened to limited over matches.
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The centre, built at a cost of Sri Lankan rupees 88.6 million (USD 6.1 lakh), was funded under the Indian government’s Development Cooperation Partnership with Sri Lanka, the Indian High Commission said. “Clarke is likely to officially announce the series on 27 November”, the source told PTI on Monday. No official from Ten was available for comment.
