LAHORE - The vice president of Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) Rajiv Shukla has announced schedule for the upcoming Pakistan tour to India after getting nod from the Indian government, it has been learnt.
After receiving formal permission from the government for Pakistan tour, the BCCI has finalised dates for the Pakistan-India one-day cricket series to be played in India, with the first match will be played on December 25, Rajiv Shukla announced on Tuesday.
India's home ministry has cleared Pakistan's short limited-over tour in December-January, taking the series one step closer to reality. The clearance was given at a meeting between the ministry officials and senior representatives of the BCCI - including its chief administrative officer Ratnakar Shetty, IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla and chief executive Sundar Raman - in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Pakistan is scheduled to arrive in India on December 22 for a series of three ODIs and two Twenty20s. The series will commence from December 25, 2012 and will conclude on January 7 during the England tour to India as the Englishmen will proceed to their country to celebrate Christmas and New Year and will return to India on January 10 and will resume ODI series against India.
The five-match cricket series, including 3 one-day internationals and 2 Twenty20Is in the two-week-long tour, will be the first to be held in India after the Mumbai attacks in 2008. Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore and Ahmedabad will host the matches, the last of which is scheduled to be played on January 7.
Earlier, the Board of Control for Cricket in India had in July extended an invitation to its Pakistani counterpart to send its team for a short limited-over series in December.
The Pakistani Cricket Board had welcomed the proposal that was subject to the approval of the Indian government. Now the clearance has been given, the bilateral cricket series between the two nations will resume after a gap of five years.
Top BCCI officials led by Rajiv Shukla on Tuesday called on Union home secretary RK Singh to tie up the security arrangements for the matches. The strict security measures will be taken for the safety of players. The BCCI has been assured of foolproof security to the venues and players by the concerned authority in the light of threat from Shiv Sena. Central forces will be deployed to aid the state police to guard the series.
Though India has played Pakistan in international events in the last few years, no Pakistan-India series was held in view of tension between the two neighbours after the 26/11 strikes.
Pakistan Cricket Board Chief efforts yielded fruit as the series was possible due to his hectic efforts and who is trying to bring back in Pakistan inches one step closer to fulfil his promise which he made with the nation.
The cricket crazy fans of both the countries were anxiously awaiting the series and wanted to see crunch matches between the two arch-rivals. Meanwhile, the Pakistan Cricket Board authorities were waiting for information of the tour from its Indian counterpart after receiving the schedule they would be able to comment on the issue. On its part, the PCB had already postponed a tour to Zimbabwe in December in anticipation of the bilateral series.