The broadcaster too has explained the difficulties to relocate their equipment and staff to Hambantota, a deep Southern district, at such a short notice.
Against the backdrop of the West Indies team's withdrawal from its tour of India, Rediff.com takes a look at instances when cricket tours have been called off midway through a series.
Opener David Warner is still looking for his first Test hundred against Sri Lanka while Smith has managed only one century in his last 18 Tests.
India face a replay of their 2019 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand, while South Africa are set for a tough Australian challenge as the semi-final line-ups was confirmed on Saturday.
ICC Chief Executive Dave Richardson on Wednesday made it clear that international cricket can return to Pakistan only after the security situation improves in the country. Richardson was speaking at a press conference held after he presented the ICC Test Championship mace to Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq at the Gaddafi stadium here for bagging the number one position in the ICC rankings.
The left-handed batter has been denied bail on Monday and is facing a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.
Meet Nuwan Seneviratne, the left-arm throwdown specialist of the Indian team.
He believes the time has come to hand over the leadership to the future of Sri Lankan cricket.
Former captain Arjuna Ranatunga slammed his cricket Board and government's decision to allow Lankan players to participate in the IPL, terming it an endorsement of human rights abuse charges against Sri Lanka.
The two are among eight Sri Lankans who have signed up with the BCCI's Indian Premier League.
Former captain Inzamam ul Haq has blamed the lack of international cricket at home since 2009 for the declining standards in Pakistan cricket.
Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal will miss next week's first Test against India after being diagnosed with pneumonia, dealing a big blow to the hosts ahead of the three-match home series against their neighbours.
The south Asian country has remained largely starved of international cricket since the 2009 attacks on a bus carrying Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore, wounding six players and a British coach and killing eight Pakistanis.
PCB is trying to convince other boards to start sending their teams to Pakistan to play limited overs matches.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has expressed apprehensions about the prospect of Indian cricketers touring Pakistan in near future.
The Sri Lankan players and officials have been airlifted from the Gaddafi stadium in Lahore by a Pakistan airforce helicopter to facilitate their return to Colombo at the earliest. Six Sri Lankan players suffered minor injuries when around a dozen gunmen attacked the team's bus as it was on its way to the Gadaffi stadium in Lahore to resume play on Day 3 of the second Test against Pakistan.
Cricket Australia has roped in Muttiah Muralitharan as spin consultant ahead of Australia's tour to Sri Lanka.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Najam Sethi said getting security clearance had put the wheels in motion but he was praying that the situation remained steady.
The PCB has signed an agreement with Sri Lanka Cricket under which the two boards have agreed to allow their players to take part in the domestic T20 premier leagues of both countries.
Former Sri Lanka pacer Dilhara Lokuhettige was charged under the ICC Anti-Corruption Code in November 2019 for his involvement in match-fixing during a T20 tournament in UAE in 2017, where a Sri Lankan team participated.
West Indies have postponed their visit to Pakistan for a three-match Twenty20 with the leading Caribbean players expressing concerns about their security in the country, the sources have claimed.
Even as the spot-fixing scandal rages on, Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) President I S Bindra has created a fresh controversy by claiming that a BCCI official had arm-twisted the Sri Lankan board to withdraw a report which violated the anti corruption regulations during India's tour of Sri Lanka in 2010.
Controversial Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar on Saturday signed up for the Cricket Board-promoted multi-million dollar Indian Premier League, along with wicketkeeping compatriot Kamran Akmal.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for the Asia Cup Super Fours match against Sri Lanka?
Tell us what you think; hopefully, we can then collate your thoughts and try, in time, to make sense of it all.
Veteran all-rounder Angelo Mathews and pacer Dushmantha Chameera will join Sri Lanka's World Cup squad in Lucknow on Friday as travelling reserves, country's cricket board announced on Thursday.
Custodian of cricket laws, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), will play one 50-over game and three T20 matches during their upcoming tour of Pakistan, beginning on Thursday. MCC president Kumar Sangakkara will captain a 12-member squad for the tour, which includes the likes of Ravi Bopara, Roelof van der Merwe and Ross Whiteley.
Pakistan's only cricketer to get a life ban for match fixing, Saleem Malik is convinced that cricket and other sports can never be rid of corruption. "These fixing matters they can never be completely eradicated from cricket or other sports," Malik told PTI in an interview. "They can be curtailed at the most because these people who want to make easy money from cricket will always come up with new ways to target players and officials and make them greedy," he said. Malik, 54, was banned for life in 2000 on the recommendation of the Justice (retd) Malik Qayyum inquiry commission into match fixing in Pakistan cricket.
Sri Lanka's World Cup-winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga's tenure as the head of the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) came to be short-lived because of his opposition to IPL, a report has claimed.
The ICC says it is monitoring the air quality in smog-shrouded New Delhi ahead of the World Cup match between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka on Monday.
The Chennai match (December 2 to 6) will be followed by Tests at Delhi (December 10 to 14) and Kanpur (December 18 to 22).
The Lankans will play a seven-match ODI series between October 25 and November 12.
Sri Lanka's top cricket administrators say it is difficult to believe allegations of pitch-fixing in a 2016 Test match against Australia which have triggered a probe by the International Cricket Council.
Pakistan are looking for alternative venues for their one-day series against Australia after Sri Lanka withdrew an offer to host the matches.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar expressed apprehensions about the prospect of Indian cricketers touring Pakistan in near future.
The IPL franchises are now expanding their bouquet of teams across leagues in the West Indies, UAE, South Africa and now the US is another untapped market that wasn't explored despite the Asian diaspora craving for some cricket.
The star-studded series to take place under tight security will be closely monitored by other cricket boards and if all goes well Pakistan expects to host Sri Lanka and West Indies this year, Pakistan cricket board chairman Najam Sethi said.
The winning culture that Mumbai Indians have built over the years with their core group of players does help them perform in high-pressure situations, said head coach Mahela Jayawardene.
The Black Caps will be the third major side to tour Pakistan this year after Australia played a full series in March-April and England featured in seven T20Is in September-October.
Dinesh Chandimal, Sri Lanka's T20 international skipper and has rejected offers to play in the sixth edition of the IPL, cricket board sources claimed.
