Karachi, Sept.7 : Pakistan is reportedly considering playing a bilateral One-day International series against Sri Lanka later this month.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) sources told The News that Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has expressed an interest in hosting Pakistan for a five-match ODI series later this month.

The Sri Lanka tour option has now emerged as the most realistic chance of Pakistani cricketers getting some top-class cricketing action following the postponement of the ICC Champions Trophy.

Pakistan were supposed to host the eight-nation tournament from September 12 to 28 but the International Cricket Council (ICC) was forced to postpone it till October 2009 after five of the competing nations raised serious security concerns about playing in the country.

In a bid to compensate for the switching of the Champions Trophy - which would have been the biggest cricketing event in Pakistan in 2008 - the PCB proposed to Cricket South Africa (CSA) to host a tri-series involving the hosts, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. But after a few positive developments, the plans of having the event fizzled out after CSA failed to attract any broadcaster for the event.

CSA was also under pressure from South Africa's weary cricketers, who were against the idea of having the tri-series immediately after a marathon tour of England.

The PCB is also mulling the idea of staging a tri-series in Abu Dhabi with the support of the local cricket officials and promoters.

ANI