KARACHI, Jan 2: Sri Lanka Cricket’s (SLC) chief executive Duleep Mendis said his board would consult the players before finalising the Pakistan tour itinerary but made it clear that there was no question of backing out of the series.

Mendis dismissed reports that the delay in finalisation of the itinerary was due to Sri Lankan players being reluctant to tour Pakistan.

“We have already confirmed to our Pakistani counterparts that we will be touring their country. We will definitely honour our commitment. Reports of our possible pullout from the tour are not true,” Mendis said.

“There are few things which we’re discussing with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and our players and then we’ll finalise the itinerary, may be in a few days... I would say in a couple of days.... But the tour is definitely on,” Mendis said.

The PCB has invited Sri Lanka for a full series after India’s refusal to visit Pakistan after the Nov 26 Mumbai incident.

Sources say the Sri Lankan authorities want a confirmation from their players on the number of matches they would play in Pakistan and the financial details for the tour as it is not part of the Future Tours Programme (FTP) of the ICC.

Saleem Altaf, PCB’s Chief Operating Officer, said he didn’t think the Sri Lankans were delaying the confirmation of the itinerary because of a possible pullout.

“They have some issues to sort out internally and will get back to us soon. On our part we are preparing for the series,” he said.

The Pakistan Cricket Board expects to receive a final itinerary from Sri Lanka on a proposed tour to Pakistan by the end of this week.

“I have spoken to Duleep Mendis today and by Sunday we will be getting a final tour program from them,” PCB’s chief operating officer Saleem Altaf told AP.

Saleem Altaf expects Sri Lanka to play Two tests, three One-day Internationals and a Twenty20 game.

“They are sticking to the original plans, but the program will be finalized once we received the final itinerary from them,” Saleem said.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Cricket Board has rubbished reports about a BCCI hand behind the delay in Sri Lanka’s confirmation of its tour of Pakistan.

Saleem said there was no substance in the reports that the BCCI was pressurising the Sri Lankans to skip their tour of Pakistan. “There has been no delaying tactics on purpose by the Sri Lankan board. They wanted to sort out some issues with their players regarding the tour itinerary and hopefully they would confirm the itinerary in next two or three days. But we don’t think there is anything suspicious in this,” Saleem said.

He said the Sri Lankans have confirmed the tour and were only working out the itinerary as they were also keen to play India. “The tour is definitely on and we are preparing accordingly for it. They should be playing two Tests, three One-day Internationals and a twenty20 match,” he said.

Saleem said despite the cancellation of the Indian team’s tour, the PCB continued to have good relations with the BCCI.

—Agencies