Pakistan agree to Ahmedabad one-dayer

Shaharyar Khan agrees to one extra one-dayer © AFP

The uncertainty over Pakistan's tour to India has finally lifted with the Pakistan board agreeing to play an extra one-dayer at Ahmedabad, as proposed by the Indian board. Kolkata will now host a Test while Ahmedabad, where a Test was scheduled, will get the sixth one-dayer. However, the final schedule will be announced only after the Indian board resolved the TV rights issue, a delay that the PCB were willing to accomodate.

In a press release issued today, the Pakistan board said that it understood the BCCI's position with relation to postponement of the tour. "The PCB understands that the tour may have to be delayed by a few days in order to firm up administrative and logistical details."

The board also appointed Salim Altaf, who is the director of cricket operations of the PCB, as the manager of the team for the forthcoming tour of India. Asad Mustafa, who is currently PCB's general manager of logistics, will be the assistant manager.

It wasn't yet revealed if this meant that Pakistan had also agreed to the BCCI's decision to choose Kolkata as an alternate venue for the Test that had originally been allotted to Ahmedabad. Pakistan's last Test there had been marred by crowd trouble, and their original request was for Mumbai. Chennai, with its famously sporting crowds, would also have been an acceptable choice to both teams.

Meanwhile, the ICC has welcomed the resolution of the Ahmedabad issue. PTI reported Ehsan Mani, ICC's president, as saying: "Everything was decided between the two boards. As it was a bilateral issue involving the boards of two countries, ICC could only play the role of a facilitator. Given the relations between Indian and Pakistan boards, I was confident of the issue being resolved amicably."

The issues over scheduling seem to be getting resolved, but the BCCI's worries aren't yet over. There's still the TV rights to sort out.

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