PCB is still awaiting confirmation

The Pakistan Cricket Board is still awaiting confirmation of India's tour next month, but has denied reports a replacement series against Sri Lanka is already being planned. "We are still waiting for the response from the Board of Control for Cricket in India," the PCB chief operating officer Salim Altaf said. The BCCI has sought clearance from its government for the Jan 8- Feb 19 tour of Pakistan, encompassing three Tests, five one-day internationals and a Twenty20 match.

The status of the tour was put in jeopardy in the wake of last month's terror attacks in Mumbai. The PCB even mooted the plan to have the series played in Abu Dhabi and Kuala Lumpur to ensure the tour goes ahead. But Altaf denied media reports that the PCB is considering hosting a series against Sri Lanka even as Arjuna Ranatunga, the chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket, said their side was keen to play. "There is no such development, we have not yet asked Sri Lanka to tour Pakistan and it's all rumors," Altaf said. "The thing is that for us the Indian team is coming to Pakistan as per schedule."

The ICC said last week it would encourage India to stick to its scheduled series in Pakistan, but also acknowledged it could not force the tour to go ahead. *AP