PCB drops Zimbabwe ''home'' series

The Pakistan cricket Board might split its forthcoming Test and ODI series against Sri Lanka at two neutral venues but has dropped the idea of organising it in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe was under consideration to be a neutral venue for the Pakistan-Sri Lanka series later this year but sources in the board said the high costs involved in organising the matches had virtually ruled it out of contention.

"The costs are a big factor in the board deciding on neutral venues for its home series like the one against Sri Lanka. Zimbabwe was a high cost option," an official source said.

Pakistan has been forced to play its home series abroad since 2009 when terrorists attacked the Sri Lankan team in Lahore.

Since then, no team has toured Pakistan for an official series because of security reasons although Afghanistan was in the country last month to play a series against the Pakistan 'A' side.

Sri Lanka have also asked Pakistan to organise the series in October and November either in Sri Lanka or at a neutral venue while turning down an official invitation from the PCB to tour Pakistan for the series.

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Zimbabwe get green light for NZ tour

The New Zealand government says it will waive sanctions to allow visas to be issued to the Zimbabwe which is due to tour next year for the first time in 11 years.

New Zealand will tour Zimbabwe in October - their first visit there since 2005 - and a reciprocal tour by Zimbabwe to New Zealand is planned for early 2012.

Foreign minister Murray McCully on Sunday said that sanctions applied by New Zealand against Zimbabwe, to express opposition to human rights abuses by the regime of Robert Mugabe, would be waived to allow Zimbabwe's tour to proceed.

McCully said he had informed New Zealand Cricket that exemptions would be made but added the decision was conditional "on the situation in Zimbabwe not deteriorating in a significant way".

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Pakistan could play Lanka in Zimbabwe

Reliable sources say Pakistan are considering Zimbabwe as one of several options to host the home series against Sri Lanka later this year.

Pakistan has been facing the ignonimy of international boycott since March 2009, when militants launched an attacked on the Sri Lankan team, killing eight people and wounding seven visiting players.

Ever since, Pakistan have played home series in England, New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Once bitten, twice shy! Sri Lanka have categorically informed that they will not visit Pakistan for the series of three Tests, five one-dayers and a Twenty20 match in October-November. However, they say that Pakistan are welcome to play in their own stadiums.

According to the Pakistan Cricket Board spokesman Nadeem Sarwar, Zimbabwe might be chosen as the neutral venue.

“Yes, we are considering the option of playing Sri Lanka in Zimbabwe, where we can make a profit because of low costs there,” Sarwar told AFP.

Last month, PCB said that it was still looking into the possibility of conducting the series in Sri Lanka and the UAE.

Sri Lanka have also offered to host Pakistan’s series against England next year.

England, who last toured Pakistan in 2005, are not keen on travelling to Pakistan considering poor security in the troubled country, where Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants are blamed for near daily bomb attacks.

Foreign teams started to refuse to tour Pakistan after the September 11, 2001 attacks, which triggered the US-led invasion of neighbouring Afghanistan, the war on Al-Qaeda and a sharp deterioration in security.

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