Pakistan may play reduced cricket series in Bangladesh

March 25th, 2009 KARACHI - Pakistan has ruled out the idea of taking the postponed One-day series against Bangladesh to United Arab Emirates (UAE) this summer. A senior Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official said the proposal to play the series against Bangladesh that was postponed because of security-related problems in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in May is not feasible because of the extremely hot weather in UAE during that time of the year.

March 19th, 2009 KARACHI - The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has turned down the team management's request to include few players associated with the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) in the squad for next month's one-day series against Australia. According to sources, the national selectors and Pakistan team officials had approached senior PCB officials to inquire about the possibility of Indian Cricket League (ICL) players featuring in the series against Australia to be played in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in April-May.

March 18th, 2009 KARACHI - Bangladesh has postponed its home one-day international (ODI) cricket series against Pakistan citing security concerns, a media report said Tuesday. The News quoted Bangladesh Minister for Youth and Sports M.

March 17th, 2009 KARACHI - Pakistan's cricket bosses are hopeful that their team's tour of Bangladesh for a One-day series will go ahead in spite of security apprehensions. Saleem Altaf, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief operating officer, told IANS Monday that he is in constant touch with Bangladesh officials, adding there is a big possibility that the new dates would be soon finalized.

March 6th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan's cricket mirrors the dysfunctional state of the nation, an editorial in a leading English daily said Friday, lamenting that the country had been reduced to 'pariah status' in the wake of the terror attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore. 'Pakistan cricket has come to be seen in the light of what Pakistan is perceived as a whole: a dysfunctional state where militants and terrorists who subscribe to a medieval ideology can dictate terms to the state,' Dawn said.

March 6th, 2009 LAHORE - Pakistan Thursday gave its consent to Bangladesh's decision to put off its home series against Pakistan following government advice about security concerns. Ijaz Butt, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman, said here that the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) officials discussed the issue with the PCB before announcing that the one-day series which was to be played March 10-24 has been postponed.

March 6th, 2009 DHAKA - The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) Thursday announced that it has postponed Pakistan's cricket tour to the country scheduled to start later this week. 'The Bangladesh Cricket Board has postponed Pakistan's tour of Bangladesh 2009 as advised by the government authorities,' the BCB said in a brief statement.

March 4th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The International Cricket Council (ICC) has taken a serious view of the Lahore terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team and may remove Pakistan as one of the 2011 World Cup organisers. A final decision will, however, be taken at an emergency meeting of the executive board in Dubai this weekend.

March 4th, 2009 DHAKA - Bangladesh is 'ready to go ahead' with the home series against Pakistan next week even as a terrorist attack in Lahore left six Sri Lankan players injured Tuesday, a media report said. Bangladesh cricket authorities expressed sadness over the attack on the Sri Lankan team bus but hoped Pakistan would still go ahead with their tour of the country, bdnews24.com reported.

February 3rd, 2009 SYDNEY - The one-day series between Pakistan and Australia could run into trouble if Pakistan insist on playing the rebel Indian Cricket League's Mohammad Yousuf. Pakistan's sports ministry cleared the way for the banned players to return to domestic cricket Monday, but the government is also keen for the likes of Yousuf to once again play for the national side despite being blacklisted by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

February 2nd, 2009 KARACHI - Pakistan's cricket chief Ijaz Butt will hold a crucial meeting with top Cricket Australia (CA) officials in Melbourne Wednesday to decide the fate of a proposed bilateral one-day series in April. According to sources in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Butt will make one last-ditch effort to convince Australia to visit Pakistan and play the series that is to include five One-day Internationals and a Twenty20 International.

January 19th, 2009 KARACHI - Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) believes the ongoing tension between India and Pakistan will be resolved soon and it is only a matter of time the two countries will resume cricketing ties. Saleem Altaf, the PCB chief operating officer, said the Pakistan and Indian cricket boards will sit down to find a slot for the series that was supposed to take place in January-Febuary this year.

January 7th, 2009 KARACHI - Pakistan's cricket officials Thursday heaved a sigh of relief when Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) confirmed that it will send its team to Pakistan twice this season to play One-day Internationals and Tests. Though the matches confirmed by SLC are lesser than the number of games asked by the Pakistan Cricket Board, the officials are happy that the proposed series has been confirmed.

December 31st, 2008 KARACHI - Pakistan's hastly-arranged home series against Sri Lanka has fallen into scheduling problems because of Indian cricket board's interference, according to media reports here. A report in the daily 'Jang' claimed Thursday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has forced Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) to make tough demands regarding the tour.

December 26th, 2008 KARACHI - Mohammad Yousuf said Saturday that Pakistan's home series against Sri Lanka will produce high quality cricket. While terming India's decision to cancel its cricket team's tour of Pakistan as a 'loss for cricket', Yousuf said Sri Lanka are a fitting replacement.