Ahmedabad issue left to both Boards: Saran

The matter has been left to both the Boards to resolve it, Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran, accompanying Natwar Singh said.

India on Wednesday said the controversy over Ahmedabad as a Test venue for the upcoming Indo-Pak cricket series will have to be resolved by the two Cricket Boards as Pakistan Cricket Board chief Shaharyar Khan meets External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh over breakfast on Thursday.

HT Image

"The matter has been left to both the Boards to resolve it, Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran, accompanying Natwar Singh, said.

On whether the tour would go ahead, he said "I have no reason to believe why the tour will not go ahead."

At the breakfast, Shaharyar may bring up the issue with Natwar Singh in a bid to resolve the issue before the tour begins.

The Indian Cricket Board's working committee will meet in New Delhi on Thursday to finalise the itinerary for the three Tests and five One-Dayers during the tour, the first since 1999.

The Pakistan team is expected to reach India on February 25 but the issue of venues has become a bone of contention as the PCB expressed reservations over playing in Ahmedabad, which witnessed communal riots in 2002.