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| November 4, 2005 | Friday | Shawwal 1, 1426 |
PCB urges India to play Test, ODI in Karachi
NEW DELHI, Nov 3: Pakistan cricket chief want India to play a Test match and a One-day International in Karachi during their tour early next year, an official said on Thursday.
The third cricket series in two years between the arch-rivals will feature three Tests and five One-day Internationals between Jan 1 and Feb 11, 2006, according to the itinerary sent by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to their Indian counterparts.
An Indian cricket board official said the schedule had been referred to the government and was likely to be approved.
“We don’t anticipate any change by the government,” the official said.
The Tests are to be played in Lahore (Jan 5-9), Faisalabad (Jan 13-17) and Karachi (Jan 21-15) after a two-day practice match in Lahore from Jan 2.
The one-dayers have been proposed in Peshawar (Jan 28), Rawalpindi (Jan 31), Lahore (February 3), Multan (Feb 6) and Karachi (Feb 11).
India will remain in Pakistan after the bilateral tour to take part in the six-nation Asia Cup limited-overs tournament from February 16-28.
India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, the United Arab Emirates and Oman will contest the tournament in various centres around Pakistan.
When India toured Pakistan in March-April last year, it declined to play a Test match in Karachi but agreed to a one-dayer there.
In a tit-for-tat response, Pakistan refused a Test in Ahmedabad, the centre of bloody religious riots in 2002, and opted for a one-dayer there during their tour of India earlier this year.
Violence-wrecked Karachi was rejected as a Test venue by South Africa, and also by England during their current tour of Pakistan.
A bomb blast outside the New Zealand’s team hotel in May 2002, which killed 14 people including 11 French naval engineers, forced that tour to be cancelled.
India’s proposed itinerary:
Jan 1: India arrive in Lahore
Jan 2-3: Practice match (Lahore).
Jan 5-9: First Test (Lahore).
Jan 13-17: Second Test (Faisalabad).
Jan 21-25: Third Test (Karachi).
Jan 28: First one-day International (Peshawar).
Jan 31: Second one-day International (Rawalpindi).
Feb 3: Third one-day International (Lahore).
Feb 6: Fourth one-day International (Multan).
Feb 11: Fifth one-day International (Karachi).—AFP
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