What was the proper protocol? Pakistan being the host, should it not have announced the tour itinerary instead of Jagmohan Dalmiya? It doesn't make too much difference , one way or the other but the BCCI stole the limelight and it was Dalmiya's press conference that was covered by the world's media.

The PCB has worked hard and it has been its gentle persuasion that brought the tour about. The perception is that the BCCI did all the running and it is its views that have prevailed. The tour has been delayed for a week, the ODIs will be played before the Test matches and there will be no Test matches in Karachi or Peshawar.

The Indian elections have certainly influenced the decision to play the ODIs before the Test matches and Dalmiya admitted as much in his press conference. It devalues the Test matches to the extent that some of the enthusiasm will have been spent. The ODIs should have been the thundering climax of a historic tour.

Now the tour resembles a detective novel where all the action takes place in the first chapter, Hercule Poirot unearths the killer and the rest of the book is given to telling us how he did it. Some of the momentum will have been lost and there is the danger that the Test matches may be an anti-climax.

We cannot always count on the rivalry between the two countries to keep the wild enthusiasm alive. The law of diminishing returns can set in. There is a bread and butter consideration.

The Indians are in the groove having played the VB series. Pakistan's preparations were tuned for the Test matches and it must now do an about turn and the composition of the probables for the training camp have to be re-adjusted.

About Karachi and Peshawar, my views are known. A venue that is safe for an ODI is safe for a Test match. The duration of stay in a city does not increase security-risks.

I am disappointed but we should give the benefit of doubt to PCB for it did its best. It may be cold comfort for cricket-fans in Karachi and Peshawar but at least, the two cities have not been shut out altogether.

This may not qualify as an achievement but the ice has been broken. The Home Ministry man who had accompanied the three-man delegation had to have some of his recommendations accepted otherwise his vanity would have been bruised and his journey wasted.

Why two ODIs in Lahore, apart from a Test match? It's a pity that the Niaz Stadium in Hyderabad has not yet been able to come to scratch and I don't know what is it its condition.

The outfield had been badly affected by salinity. But there was Gujranwala and it has hosted many splendid ODIs in the past. It is not far from Lahore and a day-trip was entirely possible. A World Cup match was played there in 1996. Cricket's good works must be spread.

Making arrangements for visiting media is not the responsibility of the PCB. The media fends for itself. Whenever I have toured with the Pakistan team, I have been on my own and can tell many a story of having to look for hotel accommodation. In 1987, I toured India with the Pakistan team.

In Kolkata I landed in a hotel which was being renovated and there was so much cement dust flying about that I feared for my lungs. Bashir Khan (Bash) was with me. The Grand Hotel was fully booked and it was where our team was staying. Bash and I went to the Grand and were given the bad news, quite firmly.

I then had an inspiration. I knew 'Bikki' Oberoi, the owner and asked to see him. I was told that he was in New Delhi. I asked the manager if I could speak to him on the telephone. There was a new respect for me. 'Bikki' was not available but the rooms became available!

Again, there was a problem at Jaipur, compounded by the visit of Zia-ul Haq on his mission of cricket diplomacy. 'Bash' and I tried hotel after hotel and ended up at the Mansingh Hotel. Again no luck but the late Hesky Baig had given me a letter of introduction to the Maharani of Jaipur.

I asked the hotel manager to get her on the phone and I spoke to her and she invited me for a cup of coffee the next morning and she would send her car to pick me up. "But I don't know where I'll be," I told her within the hearing of the manager. The manager said that we could stay for a night and then we would be turned out.

Every morning we would get an eviction notice and we would make some excuse and managed to stick it out for the duration of our stay. In all this, I was not given any assistance by the BCCI or the local cricket association.

This is not to mean that the PCB should not help out but the ultimate responsibility for accommodation and transportation lies with the media itself. It should be making its own arrangements. I thought that I might clear the air and lessen a burden on the PCB.

One more reason why Test matches should have been played in Karachi and Peshawar. Multan is a lovely ground and meets all the requirements for staging a Test match. But it falls short when it comes to accommodation.

There is no news as yet on the trainer that Pakistan was expected to get. But the captain and the coach do not seem too concerned. Perhaps, I am being unduly concerned but I have been watching a lot of cricket and listening to the commentators praising the fitness levels of some of the teams, the fruits of which have been seen in the fielding standards. It could be that we are so gifted that we do not need to match the athleticism of the other teams.