India indefinitely postpone Zimbabwe tour

India's proposed tour of Zimbabwe in June has been indefinitely postponed, although the exact circumstances of the decision are shrouded in confusion.

Yesterday, it was announced that India would be taking part in a one-day tri-series in Bangladesh between June 8 and 14, giving them a six-day break after the end of the IPL. They would then return home for a week before moving to Pakistan for the Asia Cup.

That left little scope for a three-ODI series in Zimbabwe which has been included in the ICC's Future Tours Programme for the last two years. When contacted yesterday, a Zimbabwe Cricket spokesman said that the tour was still on and that details would be announced soon.

However, less than 24 hours later, after reports suggesting the trip had been called off by mutual consent, Niranjan Shah, the BCCI's secretary, told Cricinfo: "The Zimbabwe tour has been put off indefinitely. There is no time to schedule the tour because the Indian Premier League starts on April 18. We have informed the Zimbabwe officials that the tour has been put off."

Mutually agreed or otherwise, it will be a blow to Zimbabwe who now have no major games scheduled until they host Sri Lanka in November. The Zimbabwe board will also feel aggrieved that the decision was left so late in the day when the dates of the IPL have been known for some time.