PCB for Sri Lanka series if Aussies opt out

Lahore, Feb 17 (UNI) A three member delegation of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has visited Colombo in a bid to convince Sri Lanka to visit if Australia pulls out of their tour scheduled for next month.

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) was quoted as saying by ''The Nation'' that they have been asked to play either a five-match one-day series or a three-Test series by the PCB.

The Lankans, currently touring Australia, are slated to visit the West Indies in April-May before a home series against India in July.

However, Australia, who were due to tour Pakistan for three Tests, five one-day internationals and a Twenty20 match in March-April, said they have received security advice against touring Pakistan because of widespread violence following the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

The world champions have not toured Pakistan since 1998.

They forced the South Asian nation to play at neutral venues in Sri Lanka and Sharjah in 2002, a year after the 9/11 attacks on the United States sparked security fears in the region.

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