Sri Lanka’s A squad will return home in the middle of their ongoing series against Pakistan Shaheens owing to strong political unrest in Islamabad. The PCB informed on Tuesday that, after consulting with the Sri Lankan board, the last two 50-over matches between Pakistan Shaheens and Sri Lanka A have been postponed. The postponed matches were set for Rawalpindi on Wednesday and Friday, following Pakistan Shaheens’ 108-run victory against the visitors in the first game in Islamabad on Monday.
The PCB stated that the two boards will collaborate to finalize new dates to conclude the series.
Since Sunday, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf party of former Pakistan captain and Prime Minister Imran Khan has been leading a protest march towards Islamabad. There have been reports of fights and violence between protesters and law enforcement and security personnel.
Mohsin Naqvi, the federal interior minister and chairman of the PCB, declared that the army had been called in to calm the protests. Meanwhile, the all-powerful International Cricket Council board will convene digitally on November 29 to finalize the much-delayed Champions Trophy schedule, which will be contested in Pakistan in February-March of next year.
The delay was caused by India’s refusal to play in Pakistan because to their strained relations. Since the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks, India has not toured Pakistan. The BCCI wants it to be played in a hybrid format, with India’s games planned in a third nation, preferably the UAE, which Pakistan has yet to agree to. The ICC administration will meet on the nineteenth to discuss the Champions Trophy schedule,” said an ICC official to PTI on Tuesday.
The key virtual conference will take place two days when BCCI secretary Jay Shah takes over as ICC head on December 1. He and the other board members would prefer to fix the issue before the new regime takes control.
With a deadlock over the schedule and venue yet to be broken, questions have been raised about the ICC’s current leadership, particularly chair Greg Barclay and CEO, as to why the matter was not resolved sooner and was left until the eleventh hour. With the Indian government strongly committed to the status quo, the Champions Trophy in a hybrid format with India games outside Pakistan is the most likely possibility.