LAHORE, March 10: India's cricket team arrived here on Wednesday for their first full series against Pakistan in about 15 years and captain Saurav Ganguly described it as a 'goodwill tour.'
"This tour is not a mere cricketing event as it has another significance," he told newsmen at a Press conference. Last time the Indians visited Pakistan for a full tour was in 1989 and for a short one-day series in 1997.
The 23-member Indian squad - 15 players, six officials and two security personnel - arrived by a special Indian Airline flight which also brought another 50 people, including journalists, officials of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and its guests.
Yashovardhan Azad, the chief security officer of Indian home ministry, was first to come out of the Allama Iqbal International Airport. He was followed by skipper Ganguly and his deputy Rahul Dravid.
Pakistan Cricket Board officials and Lahore City Government Nazim Mian Amir Mahmood greeted the Indians. In spite of extremely tight security arrangements made inside and outside the airport premises, scores of cricket enthusiasts managed to gather there to catch a glimpse of the Indian players.
From airport, the visitors were escorted to their hotel in a special bus by some six police vehicles. Except for the Cantt area, their entire route to the hotel was guarded by police.
The Indian players appeared relaxed as they came out of the airport. Dravid took pictures of photographers waiting for the team. Sachin Tendulkar, one of the world's best batsmen, was all smiles as photographers snapped him.
The Indian squad was brought out from the departure lounge, instead of the arrival lounge, for security reasons. Except for Tendulkar, who was part of the 1989 Indian team, all other players will be playing the Test series for the first time in Pakistan.
Mr Ganguly and Mr Dravid played One-day matches in Pakistan in 1997. Jawed Naqvi adds from New Delhi: Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee sent off the Indian team on a rare tour of Pakistan on Wednesday, sagaciously advising them not only to just seek to win the matches there but also win the hearts.
The departure of the Indian team coincided with an announcement by health officials here that both countries would use the amazing popularity of the six-week tournament to intensify their common campaign to weed out polio. They said a few last pockets of the scourge still threatened to torpedo their otherwise near total success against it.
Mr Vajpayee scribbled his goodwill wishes on a cricket bat which he presented to skipper Saurav Ganguly during a meeting with the team at his residence. The message in Hindi read "Khel hi nahi, dil bhi jitye. Meri shubkamana apke saath " (Besides the game, also win hearts. My best wishes are with you).
Schoolchildren lined up at the prime minister's residence with placards to wish the Indian team good luck, before the team left for Lahore. In what is being seen as a politically orchestrated message useful in an election year, the placards had messages like 'Atal ne diya cricket ka uphaar, India-Pakistan sadbhavana ka prachar' (Atal's cricket gift spreads harmony in India and Pakistan).
Reports said Indian and Pakistani health officials planned to cash in on the upcoming cricket series to promote anti-polio drive in the two countries. "We have invited Pakistan's National Programme Manager Dr Rayhan Hafiz for the meeting during March 26-27 here and he has confirmed his participation," Press Trust of India quoted a health ministry official as saying.
LAHORE, March 10: India's cricket team arrived here on Wednesday for their first full series against Pakistan in about 15 years and captain Saurav Ganguly described it as a 'goodwill tour.'
