No change in Pak team's tour

The news late on Saturday was that Pakistan's tour of India would go on as scheduled, reports Kadambari Murali.

The news late on Saturday was that Pakistan's tour of India would go on as scheduled. A one-line statement from Dr Ahsan Malik, the Pakistan Cricket Board's spokesperson here, said, "We haven't received any instructions on the matter from Pakistan, so status quo will be maintained."

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On Saturday evening, many players — who apparently found out about the declaration of Emergency in Pakistan while at nets at the Kotla - chose to keep to their rooms and follow the events on television.

Yet, those who did come down said that they were all pretty calm. Shahid Afridi told HT that they knew their families were safe. "This wasn't unexpected," he said, adding that there was no further news as lines (in Pakistan) were now down. "But we expect it will be alright."

Another player said there was a sense of unease, which did not help ahead of a high-pressure series, but they had discussed it and decided to play it by the ear.

"We're hoping that we do really well now, and give the country something to cheer. It won't be easy though, but maybe once we know more, and the lines start working again, things will be better."

He said the Pakistan High Commission had his number and he was sure they would get in touch if any change in the schedule had to be officially conveyed. "As things stand, the team proceeds to Guwahati on Sunday for the first one-dayer”.