Even as time runs out, the Board of Control for Cricket in India and the Pakistan Cricket Board have emergency plans in place for a short series in Sri Lanka, The Hindu reported.

The delay in official sanction for the cricket exchange on neutral soil has not discouraged administration from India and Pakistan to keep arrangements going for the series which includes five One Day International and two T20 matches.

A BCCI functionary told The Hindu that the eagerness to play the host by Sri Lanka has been a crucial factor in looking at the prospects with optimism.

“We need the clearance and the process would be put in motion. The past experience of organising things at a short notice would come in handy. In any case, the conditions in India and Sri Lanka are not much different and we feel the series can be pulled off provided the clearance comes in the next couple of days,” said the Board official.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (OCB) had obtained the permission from its Government for the series and written to the BCCI. The countries had two options – Bangladesh and United Arab Emirates – to play the series in but India was comfortable only with Sri Lanka as the host.

The one-day series is the home event for Pakistan. “Organising the series at a short series is not a challenge,” the Board official said. The series is part of a contentious MoU signed by the BCCI during N. Srinivasan’s regime to PCB to play a minimum of Test and ODI series on home and away basis for the next six years.

The challenge, however, would be for the official broadcaster to handle logistic issues at a short notice. The two countries last played a bi-lateral series when India was the host in 2013.

(With inputs from The Hindu)