Colombo: Sri Lanka has been ruled out as a possible venue for the troubled Sharjah Cup cricket tournament due to be held in the United Arab Emirates, cricket officials said here on Wednesday. The Sharjah Cup involving Pakistan, Sri Lanka and South Africa was to take place in Sharjah from April 1 to 8. But South Africa, the hosts of the World Cup which concluded on Sunday, refused to travel to the United Arab Emirates because of the Iraq war. Tournament organisers -- Cricketers Benefit Fund Series (CBFS) - had hoped that the event could be switched to an alternative venue, and officials had been quoted as saying Sri Lanka was a possibility. But Cricket Board officials on Wednesday ruled out the possibility of the tournament being hosted in Sri Lanka. "Our President (Hemaka Amarasuriya) told me that the organisers have ruled out Colombo as a venue for the tournament," Charnika Munasinghe, spokesperson for the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) said. Sri Lanka has named its team for the tournament which features three new faces - the top order batsman Michael Vandort, wicket-keeper batsman Prasanna Jayawardena and leg spinner Kaushal Lokuarachchi. Dropped are three seniors, batsmen Mahela Jayawardena, Russel Arnold and wicket- keeper batsman Kumar Sangakkara - all of whom had a dreadful run in the World Cup. The Sri Lankan selectors also decided to rest ace off spinner Muthiah Muralitharan. Copyright AFP 2001

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Sharjah Cup set to pull out of Emirates, headed for SL

Tags: cricket, sharjah cup, united arab emirates, cricketers benefit fund series (cbfs), hemaka amarasuriya, charnika munasinghe, board of control for cricket in sri lanka (bccsl), michael vandort, prasanna.