Sri Lanka will tour, insist Pakistan

The Pakistan board insists Sri Lanka's recently agreed tour of the country will go ahead as planned

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The Pakistan Cricket Board has dismissed reports that Sri Lanka are apprehensive over touring Pakistan.

Sri Lanka agreed to fill in a gap in the calendar created by India’s refusal to travel to Pakistan later this month.

The tour would comprise a Test and one-day series but Sri Lanka have not yet finalised the itinerary despite agreeing to the trip over a fortnight ago.

They have twice called for the scheduled to be changed and also requested for the start of the series to be put back by three weeks.

The new dates proposed by Sri Lanka Cricket clash with Pakistan's tour of Bangladesh but the PCB is confident of resolving the issue.

"The Sri Lanka series is definitely on," PCB chairman Ijaz Butt said. "The two boards are working on finalising the itinerary and we will finalise the dates within the next few days."

PCB chief operating officer Saleem Altaf also revealed that Bangladesh had agreed to change the dates of Pakistan's tour to their country.

Pakistan are scheduled to play a five-match one-day series in Bangladesh.

"Bangladesh have agreed to change the dates of the series," Altaf said.

"But Sri Lanka have to first confirm the dates of their tour before we decide on new dates with Bangladesh."

Under the latest itinerary, Sri Lanka will play two Tests, three one-day internationals and a Twenty20 international in a series starting on February 15.