Pak happy with India tour arrangements
Pakistani cricket chiefs said Sunday they were happy with arrangements for their side's tour of India later this month – the arch-rivals' first series for five years.
A four-member Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) delegation returned home after inspecting the five venues where the hotly-anticipated one-day and Twenty20 clashes will rekindle one of the greatest rivalries in world sport.
"India is eagerly waiting to host the Pakistan team," PCB spokesman Nadeem Sarwar said on his return. "We are satisfied with the arrangements put in place and hope that it will be a fantastic series."
The delegation was headed by Ehsan Sadiq, PCB's director of security and vigilance and also included Usman Wahla, manager of international cricket and Sohail Khan, a senior officer with the Punjab Police.
India suspended all bilateral sporting ties with Pakistan in the aftermath of the 2008 terror attacks on Mumbai, which left 166 people killed and were blamed on militants based across the border.
But in July this year the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) invited Pakistan to play a limited-overs series and the tour was cleared by New Delhi in October.
Pakistan team will fly to New Delhi on December 22 and will play the first Twenty20 in Bangalore three days later.
The second Twenty20 will be played in Ahmedabad on December 27 followed by one-day matches in Chennai (December 30), Kolkata (January 3) and New Delhi (January 6).
Sarwar said Pakistan expects the best security arrangements for the team.
"What we expect is fool-proof security for our players, and we expect that the capability that these cities have will provide that. A visa policy is also announced so it will be a great series," said Sarwar.
India announced it will issue 3 000 visas for Pakistan fans to watch the series and these will be processed quickly.
