LAHORE, Dec 5: Pakistani cricket umpire Asad Rauf said on Friday that visa problems may prevent him being at next week’s first Test between India and England after it was relocated following the Mumbai incident.

Rauf said his Mumbai visa would not allow him to travel to Chennai, where the match is now scheduled to be held, and the Indian High Commission was closed for the Eid-ul-Azha celebrations.

“I did have a visa for Mumbai, where the Test was to be played, but now the Test has been relocated to Chennai and since the Indian High Commission is closed for the next five days I will be unable to officiate in the first Test,” Asad said.

The England squad flew home in the wake of the terrorist attacks on Mumbai, but captain Kevin Pietersen said on Thursday he was “very confident” that his side would play two scheduled Tests against India.

The players are currently in Abu Dhabi and will take a final decision on the fate of the two-Test series after getting a security report on Sunday.

The first Test is due to start on Dec 11 and Asad, 52, said he hoped to get a visa for the second, which starts in Mohali on Dec 19.

“I have informed the International Cricket Council (ICC) about the visa problem and hope that I will get the visa before the second Test,” the umpire said.

Asad’s appointment for the Test was seen as a surprise as relations between India and Pakistan have hit a low following the Mumbai attacks, which the Indian government has blamed on elements based in Pakistan.

The umpire thought it was important for Pakistani cricket officials to go to India as “peace officials.”

“I have no concerns at all about travelling to India,” he said. “The ICC has spoken to the Indian cricket board and they have told them that extra security measures will be put in place for us match officials.

“I am happy to be going there. In fact, it is important to go there because we go as peace ambassadors,” he added.

Asad, an experienced umpire, has so far officiated in 25 Tests, 56 One-day Internationals and eight Twenty20 Internationals, and last officiated in a Test in October, between India and Australia in Mohali.—AFP