Abu Dhabi series delayed, to start from May 18

Lahore, May 3 (UNI) The much awaited three-match ODI series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi from May 8, has been postponed until May 18 because of a plethora of problems.

According to the Pakistan Cricket Board, the matches would now be played on May 18th, 20th, 22nd as the Sri Lankans had requested for some rest for their team members following their long World Cup campaign.

However, well-informed sources said that another reason why the organisers were unable to hold the series on time is because they were not yet able to get full sponsorship of the event.

Moreover the television rights for the matches are yet to be sold.

''The organisers' expenses in staging the three-match series are coming to around 2.4 million dollars while the money promised to them from the sale of television rights and other sponsorship agreements is only two million dollars,'' a source was quoted by the Dawn as saying.

He said the organisers had sold the title sponsorship and other advertisement rights for 1.2 million dollars but were still negotiating with some Pakistani channels for the sale of terresterial and sattellite television rights as no international broadcaster had shown interest in the series.

''The organisers are even ready to go ahead with the series if they break even but that has not happened so far,'' the source added.

Meanwhile, the organisers in Abu Dhabi yesterday, communicated the new dates of the series to the PCB which was later confirmed by PCB's chief operating officer Shafqat Naghmi.

''Yes the dates have been changed,'' he said.

Meanwhile, PCB media director Dr Ahsan Hameed Malik added that the series could only be confirmed after receiving the memorandum of understanding (MoU) from the host which they are yet to receive.

UNI