The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has re-scheduled Sri
Lanka's tour of West Indies to accommodate the cash-rich Indian Premier League
(IPL) by scrapping the two match Test series and replacing the ODI and T20
matches with a tri-series which will also feature India.
The move will be cheered by official media rights holder
Ten Sports, which had recently renewed its rights with WICB for seven years
beginning January 2013 through to 2020.
As part of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Future Tours
Programme (FTP), Sri Lanka was originally scheduled to tour the Caribbean for
two Tests, three ODIs and two Twenty20 Internationals in 2013.
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The limited overs portion of the Sri Lankan tour of the
West Indies was originally scheduled for April/May, which would have clashed
with IPL, which will take place from 3 April to 26 May.
The Sri Lankan tour of the West Indies was rescheduled to
allow players from both teams to participate in the Indian Premier League
(IPL), the WICB said in a statement.
The two Tests have been deferred and will be played at a
later date in the FTP cycle, it added.
The three teams will play the Caribbean in June and July
next year in a seven match One Day International Tri Nation Series.