Pakistan, India govts give green signal for cricket series in Sri Lanka

Hours after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif gave the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) clearance for a Pakistan-India cricket series in Sri Lanka, Indian media reported that the country's government has also given a green signal to its cricket board for the proposed series next month.

BCCI senior official Rajeev Shukla said the much-anticipated India-Pakistan series will happen tentatively from December 15 at the neutral venue.

"India-Pakistan series will happen tentatively from Dec 15 in Sri Lanka. Both the countries have agreed upon it," Shukla was quoted as saying by Indian media today.

"Around five matches will mark the resumption of cricketing ties between India and Pakistan in Sri Lanka," he said.

Also read: PM Sharif gives go-ahead for Pakistan-India cricket series in Sri Lanka

The cricket boards of Pakistan and India had been in a deadlock for months over a venue for the series. India had refused to play in the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan's home away from home, and Pakistan rejected the prospect of playing the series in India.

Giles Clarke, who heads International Cricket Council's Pakistan Task Force, organized a meeting between PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan and BCCI president Shashank Manohar last week in Dubai, where Sri Lanka was chosen as the possible venue, pending clearance from both governments.

The much-anticipated series will mark the resumption of bilateral cricketing ties between the two nations. Pakistan and India have not played a bilateral series since 2007. Cricketing ties were stalled between the two countries following the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai.