The Hindu : Front Page : ``Venue is for cricket boards to decide''

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Feb 08, 2005

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``Venue is for cricket boards to decide''

By Our Diplomatic Correspondent

NEW DELHI, FEB. 7. The Government of India feels that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) should sort out the difference of opinion on playing a Test match in Ahmedabad during the coming India-Pakistan cricket series.

South Block officials told this correspondent that the Government's role was restricted to providing security for both one-day and Test matches, and not venue selection. The Government had not, for instance, been consulted by the BCCI on selection of Mohali or Bangalore as the other Test venues. Hence, any problem over Ahmedabad should be dealt with by the two boards.

The PCB, too, seems to feel the same way. "The PCB has all along maintained that the venues' issue should be amicably resolved between the two boards and that it was the privilege of the host country to select [the] centres for matches," it said in a statement released by the Pakistan High Commission today.

The PCB stated that after receiving the report of Pakistan's "security team" that visited India, a request was made to the BCCI that the venue of the second Test be shifted from Ahmedabad to some other city.

"In making the request, [the] PCB wished to preserve and strengthen bilateral relations that have been enhanced at the public and Government levels after the resumption of the cricketing series between the two countries," the statement said.

The Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, today said the Union Government should not remain a "silent spectator" to the "insult" Gujarat had suffered due to Pakistan's decision.

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