20 January 2004	Tuesday	27 Ziqa'ad 1424

NEW DELHI, Jan 19: Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary, S K Nair, is expected to head a special delegation to Pakistan next week to not only inspect the match venues for forthcoming series but also finalize the tour itinerary , Press Trust of India reported on Monday.

It said BCCI had decided to send its special team by next week that would study security situation in Pakistan before the Indian team's visit in March-April to the country.

Indian delegation will also have talks with Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials and discuss the tour itinerary before finalizing it. According to PTI, Indians had indicated to their hosts that they were sending the delegation primarily to inspect the venues as India had not made a major tour of Pakistan since 1989.

The other aspect is to coordinate and discussion security arrangements with Pakistan law enforcement agencies. India will play three Tests and five One-day Internationals after the series opening three-day warm-up match.

The decision to examine all aspects of Pakistan tour is apparently prompted by some Indian players' alleged concern for their security. BCCI chief Jagmohan Dalmiya has opted to send the security team to Pakistan as during discussions with senior Indian players presently touring Australia told him they wanted full security assurances for playing in Pakistan.

The only other time BCCI had sent a team for a security inspection was ahead of India's tour of England in mid-2002. That trip was undertaken not because of security concerns but to settle outstanding administrative issues, as BCCI didn't like visit of security experts of Wales & English cricket board to India to inspect match venues in winter of 2001.-PPI