ISLAMABAD: The director of international cricket of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Intikhab Alam has said that the board is looking for an alternative venue for Pakistan’s series against Australia after Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) pulled out.

The Pakistan-Australia series, supposed to be hosted by Sri Lanka, was going to have five one-day international (ODIs) and three Twenty20s (T20s). Sri Lanka pulled out of hosting the series due to the dates of the series clashing with the Sri Lankan premier league.

“Yes it's disappointing to see the series against Australia not going ahead in Sri Lanka and it would have provided ideal practice for the Pakistan team ahead of the Twenty20 World Cup in Sri Lanka, but it's out of our hands and we have two or three alternatives to Sri Lanka in mind,” Alam said.

Alam said that cancelling the series due to a lack of alternative venues is not an option and that the details about where the series will be played will be confirmed within a week. Pakistan is negotiating with other countries about hosting the series, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Malaysia.

“There are absolutely no plans to cancel the series against Australia and the PCB is actively working on several options that can serve as an alternative to Sri Lanka. We should have more concrete details in a week or so after we have looked at the various options available to us in further detail,” he added.

International cricket in Pakistan has been suspended since the Sri Lankan team was attacked in March 2009.

“The PCB will speak with Cricket Australia soon about an alternative to Sri Lanka once our research into possible venues is complete. We are looking forward to playing against Australia and hope that it will be a competitive series wherever it is played.”