The Hindu : Indian cricket team to head for Pakistan on March 10

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 22, 2004

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Indian cricket team to head for Pakistan on March 10

By P. Sabanayakan

KOLKATA, FEB. 21 . The Indian cricket team will go on a 40-day tour of Pakistan from March 10 to play five one-day Internationals (ODIs) followed by three Test matches. According to the itinerary released by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) here today, the tour will start with a one-day warm-up game against a first-class side at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on March 11. The five ODIs will be played in Karachi on March 13, Rawalpindi on March 16, Peshawar on March 19, and Lahore on March 21 and 24. Karachi and Peshawar, seen as problematic venues, have been allotted day matches. The other three ODIs will be day-night events.

Multan will host the first Test from March 28 to April 1, Lahore the second from April 5 to 9 and Rawalpindi the third from April 13 to 17.

The BCCI president, Jagmohan Dalmiya, told a packed media conference that Test matches could not be scheduled in Karachi and Peshawar. "We respect the feelings of the cricket-loving people of Karachi and Peshawar. We are sure that the one-day internationals in these two venues will be played in [the] proper spirit and pave the way for the Indian team to play Tests during the team's next tour," he said.

The Indian team will be named here on March 3 and it will assemble in Delhi four days later. There would be no camp prior to the tour since many players were participating in the Duleep Trophy tournament now under way. Mr. Dalmiya said the Home Ministry and the External Affairs Ministry would brief the players on dos and don'ts and on security aspects.

Explaining why one-day matches are scheduled ahead of the Test matches, Mr. Dalmiya said limited-overs games could generate excitement and passions among the fans of both countries. Keeping this fact in mind the BCCI wanted the ODIs to be played during the early part of the tour.

He said there was no pressure from any quarter in the preparation of the itinerary, but admitted that the advice of the Government of India, as conveyed through the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, was taken into account.

He stated that though the entire responsibility for the safety and security of the Indian players and officials would be on the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the Pakistan Government, the Indian Home Ministry had agreed to appoint a chief and two assistant security liaison officers for the tour. The responsibility of this three-member team would be limited to coordinating matters with the local law-enforcement authority and other agencies looking after the team's security.

Mr. Dalmiya said that this being a goodwill tour, the Board had decided to allow the wives of the players to accompany them from the beginning. The Board's usual policy was to allow wives to join the players during the second half of a tour.

He said visa rules were being relaxed in order to allow as many Indian fans as possible to be in Pakistan for the matches. The details were being worked out between the two Governments. The team would return to Delhi on April 18.

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