India-Pakistan one-dayer unlikely to be held in Delhi by AFP

---

Ground:	Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
Event:	Pakistan in India 2004/05

---

DateLine: 31st March 2005

 

A one-day international between Pakistan and India that Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf was due to attend is unlikely to be held in New Delhi for security reasons.

 

"It will be difficult for us to meet the conditions of municipal authorities and security agencies and we have decided to convey the same to the Indian cricket board," Delhi cricket chief Arun Jaitley told reporters Thursday.

 

Musharraf was expected to fly in for the sixth and final match of the upcoming one-day series between India and Pakistan, which was to be held at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground on April 17.

 

The stadium was being rebuilt and cricket officials had decided to reduce the capacity to 30,000 for the match, saying spectators would be allowed to occupy only the lower half of the two-tiered galleries.

 

"It is now up to the cricket board to take a decision regarding the status of the match," said Jaitley.

 

The series was originally proposed to be of five one-dayers but a sixth was added to the itinerary to accommodate Ahmedabad as a venue after Pakistan refused to play a Test in the western city because of security concerns.

 

The preceding three-match Test series between the two teams ended in a 1-1 draw.

 

Pakistan foreign office spokesman Jalil Abbas Jilani said Islamabad was still waiting to hear from India about the development.

 

"We have not been officially informed," he told AFP.

 

It was not clear if the change in venue would have an impact on President Musharraf's proposed visit to India.

 

"Once we get the information about the next venue officially, we will take a decision," Jilani said.

 

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asked Musharraf to watch one of the matches during the tour after the Pakistani leder after publicly announced his desire to watch cricket in India if invited.

 

The so-called "cricket diplomacy" came amid a 14-month-old thaw in ties between the nuclear-armed neighbours, who also share a long-standing sporting rivalry.

(Article: Copyright © 2005 AFP)