There seems to be doubts about the itinerary of the upcoming home cricket series against Pakistan being announced on Thursday as expected, an Indian board official said on the eve of an important meeting.
"It is likely, but let us see what the members have to say at Thursday's working committee meeting," an unconvincing SK Nair, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), told IANS.
The itinerary of the series, tops the agenda of the meeting, at the end of which BCCI president Ranbir Singh Mahendra is expected to announce the complete programme of the series, which runs till April 9.
However, there seems to be some uncertainty about Ahmedabad and a few other venues like Kanpur, whose Green Pak Stadium is in poor condition.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has refused to accept Ahmedabad as a Test venue, citing security concerns based on a report by its venue inspection team last month.
The PCB fear stems from the fact that Ahmedabad was the epicentre of the 2002 Gujarat communal riots in which at least 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed.
{{/usCountry}}The PCB fear stems from the fact that Ahmedabad was the epicentre of the 2002 Gujarat communal riots in which at least 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed.
{{/usCountry}}It was expected that Indian Foreign Minister K Natwar Singh, now in Pakistan, would try to convince PCB officials that it was safe to play after the Indian and Gujarat governments promised to provide foolproof security to the Pakistani cricketers.
But Nair said the BCCI has not heard from Natwar Singh as of Wednesday evening.
"No, we have not had a word from the minister so far," he said.