India's tour to Pakistan may become a reality

By Rizwan Ehsan Ali

ISLAMABAD, DEC. 24. There is a possibility of a short Indian tour to Pakistan in the second week of next month, it is learnt here on Sunday.

Two Tests and three one-day internationals as against a scheduled three Tests and five one-dayers are likely to be played at venues yet to be finalised by both the respective cricket boards.

The Indian government had refused permission to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to send its team across the border on November 15. ``I hope everything goes fine for the next 48 hours when we are expecting to hear a final word from the BCCI,'' says Lt. Gen. Tauqir Zia, chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board.

The Indian Cricket Board would indicate to the PCB on December 26 whether its team would be competing in a short series against Pakistan next month although the sources say that PCB has already started preparing the itinerary.

``We are very much hopeful that Indians would visit Pakistan next month. We have been saying this all the way that if we could go and play against them (India) despite threats from fundamentalists, India should have no problems in competing against us in Pakisan,'' the general said on Sunday.

Sources also confirmed that the Indian cricket officials have contacted the PCB top brass and have asked for a fresh itinerary, starting the tour with a tentative date of January 8.

The sources believe that BCCI never opposed the tour of Pakistan but they did not get the required clearance from their government. ``They (BCCI) never called off the tour but unfortunately their government did not give them the clearance in mid November.''

However, the biggest problem for PCB is how quickly it could make arrangements for the tour. ``We can work day and night. That's not the big problem. We have just organised a series against England so it won't be a much problem,'' claimed Brig Munawwar Rana, the newly appointed Director Operations, PCB.

Sources say that soon after receiving positive signals for the tour, the PCB officials started making contacts with TransWorld International for the coverage of the series. ``Their initial response is that they could not bring in the equipment before January 15. But let's hope everything goes well.''

Moreoever, sources say that the PCB officials have already conveyed to their Indian counterparts that they needed atleast three weeks to prepare themselves for the series.

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Section  : Sport
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