Pakistan cites security angle for venue change

"After listening to the security delegation we have requested the BCCI to shift the Test from Ahmedabad to some other centre," PCB director Abbas Zaidi said on Monday.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have asked India to drop Ahmedabad as a match venue for the series which starts later this month.

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"After listening to the security delegation ... we have requested the Indian board to shift the second Test from Ahmedabad to some other suitable Test centre," PCB Director Abbas Zaidi told Reuters on Monday.

Ahmedabad had been a controversial choice as one venue for the series, Pakistan's first full tour to India since early 1999. It is the main city of the western Gujarat state which was rocked by one of India's worst communal riots in a decade in 2002.

Ties between the countries have improved in the last year. The Indian team played their first test series in Pakistan for over 14 years in 2004 after a government ban on bilateral cricket with Pakistan was lifted.

Zaidi said the PCB had taken its decision on security grounds and there was no other motive behind the request to shift the venue.