CALCUTTA, 22 February 2004 — India will not play Test matches at Karachi and Peshawar on next month’s tour of Pakistan due to security concerns, according to the itinerary released here yesterday.
Both cities will, however, hold One-Day Internationals following an agreement reached between the cricket boards of the two countries, Indian cricket chief Jagmohan Dalmiya told reporters here.
The southern city of Karachi has a history of ethnic violence and bomb blasts, while Peshawar is close to Pakistan’s volatile border with Afghanistan. “We respect the sentiments of the cricket-loving people of Karachi and Peshawar, but they could not be accommodated at this stage,” Dalmiya said. “I am sure we will play Test matches there on our next visit there and hope the One-Day Internationals in Karachi and Peshawar this time will be played in the true spirit of cricket.”
India will arrive on March 10 for their first full tour of Pakistan in almost 15 years, beginning with five one-dayers followed by three Test matches at Multan, Lahore and Rawalpindi, with India returning home on April 18, Dalmiya said.
Indian Sports Minister Vikram Varma said in New Delhi that the decision not to play Tests at Karachi and Peshawar followed a directive from the federal Home Ministry to keep the touring team’s stay in these two cities as short as possible.
“The Home Ministry has recommended not to hold Test matches in Karachi and Peshawar and these recommendations are binding on the cricket board,” Varma said. The Indian team will be accompanied by three security experts to be nominated by the government to coordinate with intelligence agencies in Pakistan, Varma added.
New Zealand were forced to abandon their tour of Pakistan in 2002 after a bomb blast outside the team hotel in Karachi on the morning of a Test match.
South Africa and New Zealand declined to play in Karachi and Peshawar earlier this season, but matches featuring Bangladesh went off peacefully at both venues. The Indian side’s tour was announced on Oct. 22 last year after the New Delhi government agreed to resume bilateral sporting ties with Pakistan following a thaw in diplomatic relations between the South Asian rivals.
The itinerary was finalized after a three-member delegation from India, which included a security expert from the Home Ministry, visited Pakistan earlier this month to study safety and players’ arrangements for the tour.
PCB chief executive Rameez Raja said the tour may have been called off if Pakistan had insisted on including Test matches at Karachi and Peshawar. “The confidence of touring teams has obviously not been fully restored about the two venues,” Raja said in a statement.
“If we had pressed harder for Tests in Karachi and Peshawar, the tour might even have been called off. While I am sad that the two cities will not be hosting Tests, I am glad that they will be hosting important one-day games.”
Raja added the decision to play One-Day Internationals before the Test matches was due to political reasons. “The Indian board requested us for the change of format because of the expected parliamentary elections in India in April,” he said.
“The Indians further argued that if the one-dayers were played in the second half of the series, the public would lose interest in the matches. We showed flexibility because we understand the importance of this series.
“At the same time, I am convinced that it would be a controversy-free and trouble-free tour and at the end of the day, it will be cricket that will emerge the winner irrespective of which team wins the Test or one-day series.”
Meanwhile, Pakistan recalled popular all rounder Shahid Afridi in the preliminary squad for next month’s series against India, chief selector Wasim Bari said. “We have included Afridi along with openers Imran Nazir, Salim Elahi and middle order batsman Naved Latif in the squad of 26,” Bari said.
Faisal Iqbal, Asim Kamal, Shadab Kabir and Bazid Khan have been excluded from the preliminary squad but would be considered for the Test matches, said Bari.
Pakistan’s tune-up camp for the series starts in Lahore on Feb. 24.
Full itinerary:
March 10: Indian team arrives in Lahore; March 11: One-Day practice match, Lahore; March 13: First One-Dayer, Karachi; March 16: Second One-Dayer, Rawalpindi (day-night); March 19: Third One-Dayer, Peshawar; March 21: Fourth One-Dayer, Lahore (day-night); March 24: Fifth One-Dayer, Lahore (day-night).
March 28-April 1: First Test, Multan; April 5-9: Second Test, Lahore; April 13-17: Third Test, Rawalpindi.
