NEW DELHI, April 27: India's cricket board will not give permission for players to appear in a one-day game planned for next month in Abu Dhabi. "The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has neither accorded its approval for any such match nor would it release any of its current cricketers for the proposed match," secretary Karunakaran Nair said in a statement on Tuesday.

Cricket officials in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, announced plans last week to stage a one-day game on May 14 featuring leading Indian and Pakistani players to unveil their state-of-the art cricket facility.

They hope eventually to receive the International Cricket Council's (ICC) approval to host One-day Internationals at the 20,000-capacity Sheikh Zayed stadium, built at a cost of $22 million.

But Nair said the BCCI was surprised to see media reports on such a match, which reported India and Pakistan captains Saurav Ganguly and Inzamamul Haq would lead the teams.

India have just completed a high-profile Test and one-day series victory in Pakistan in their first full tour across the border for over 14 years. Traditional rivalry and the support of a big expatriate population from both countries have always ensured huge interest in India-Pakistan contests in the original Gulf venue of Sharjah. -Agencies