Sangakkara, Vaas, Murali to miss Abu Dhabi series

Colombo, May 6 (UNI) Sri Lanka World Cup stars Muttiah Muralitharan, Chaminda Vaas and Kumar Sangakkara have opted out of the Abu Dhabi series against Pakistan due to prior county commitments.

Sri Lanka will play three one-day internationals against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi between May 18 and 22.

The Sri Lankan trio's absence will further dent the charm of the series as Pakistani top players Inzamam-ul-Haq and Younis Khan will also miss the event.

Sri Lanka Cricket secretary K Mathivanan, however, ended all speculations about the fate of tournament, saying that he had received confirmation that the series would be played from May 18-22 and that Sri Lanka would receive 750,000 dollars as participation fees from the organisers -- the Abu Dhabi Cricket Council (ADCC).

He said Sri Lanka would leave for Abu Dhabi on May 15 and the matches would take place on May 18, 20 and 22.

UNI