24 February 2005	Thursday	14 Muharram 1426

LAHORE, Feb 23: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has claimed that it would be difficult to further postpone the tour of India, which is now underthreat from a TV rights row.

The Pakistan team is scheduled to leave for India on Feb 28 for a full tour after six years but the situation is uncertain as an Indian TV channel and the Indian cricket board are involved in a dispute over tele casting rights and a legal case is pending with Chennai High Court.

The situation has further worsened as the International Cricket Council (ICC) rules that telecast is a must and the ICC could refuse to post officials for the series if the telecast issue is not decided by next week.

The tour had already been delayed from Feb 25 after the PCB had refused to play a Test at Ahmedabad, a demand which later accepted by its Indian counterpart. "A further postponement of the tour would be difficult because Pakistan would be touring the West Indies in early May.

PCB hopes that the television rights issue would be resolved expeditiously so that the tour can proceed on schedule," a PCB spokesman said on the new development.

"The PCB was perturbed over Indian media reports that the Pakistan-India series could be postponed if a high court decision did not permit the BCCI to decide on television rights for the series.

"The PCB felt that cricket fans on both sides of the border were eagerly awaiting the series and that another postponement would be highly disappointing for the public. "It would also lead to huge loss of revenue for both boards, " the spokesman added.

AFP ADDS: Pakistan's tour of India will go ahead as scheduled, Indian cricket chief Ranbir Singh Mahendra said on Wednesday, ending speculation the high-profile tour could be cancelled due to a TV rights row.

Mahendra, who took over as president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) from Jagmohan Dalmiya last September, said there was no way the tour will be cancelled or even postponed.

"The tour will go ahead as scheduled," Mahendra said. "Yes, there has been a delay on TV rights but that is because the matter is in court. We are confident something will be worked out. As soon as we hear from the courts, we will work on a war footing."

Zee, meanwhile, offered a olive branch to the BCCI on Wednesday, saying it was willing to telecast the India-Pakistan series at short notice. "Zee would do this entirely at its risks and costs and without any equity in its favour," the channel wrote in a letter to Mahendra.