ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP):

PAKISTAN ARE unlikely to go ahead with a planned one-day series against Sri Lanka later this month due to lack of sponsor interest, a Pakistan Cricket Board official said yesterday.

"Efforts to organise matches against Sri Lanka have encountered difficulties and the main thing is lack of sponsors' interest in the series," PCB spokesman Mansoor Suhail told the Associated Press.

"The way things stand at the moment, it's highly unlikely that the series will be played."

The PCB expects to make a final decision on the proposed series this week.

The five-match limited-overs series was planned in Sri Lanka to fill the gap created after the Champions Trophy was postponed for a year due to security fears in Pakistan.

Death blow to pakistan

Pakistan had earlier also tried to organise a triangular series in South Africa also featuring Sri Lanka, but Cricket South Africa refused, saying its players were exhausted after a tour of England.

The likely cancellation of the Sri Lanka series adds to the dearth of international cricket for Pakistan.

Pakistan have not played a Test match in 2008. They hosted only two one-day series against weaker oppositions - Zimbabwe and Bangladesh - earlier this year and the Asia Cup one-day tournament.

Security concerns prompted Australia to postpone their scheduled tour in March this year, and Australia joined England, South Africa and New Zealand in lobbying the International Cricket Council to postpone the Champions Trophy until October 2009.