Mumbai: India will host a tri-series, likely to feature Sri Lanka and the West Indies, ahead of the 2007 World Cup, the BCCI said on Thursday.

“It’s expected to feature Sri Lanka, who have confirmed to take part, and the West Indies after they finish their tour of Pakistan and is likely in January-February,” said BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah over phone from Rajkot.

Meanwhile, the proposed tri-series in Singapore and Malaysia would be tentatively from September 15-29, Shah said. “The series, involving seven matches, would need around 15 days to complete and it would commence not later than September 15 and end before the end of the month,” he said.

The series, part of the BCCI’s scheduled off-shore neutral venue ties, will feature India and Australia while a confirmation is still awaited from the West Indies.

Contract for Munaf

Meanwhile, Munaf Patel, who has so far played six Tests and five ODIs, has become eligible to sign the players’ contract (Grade C) with the BCCI.

“The moment a non-contracted player completes the quota of five Tests or ten ODIs in a year, he automatically becomes eligible to get a Board contract in the lowest grade,” A BCCI source explained. (PTI)