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India’s Pakistan tour called off

India has called off the Indian cricket team’s Pakistan tour, amid freeze in the peace process. Pakistan responded by sending an invite to Sri Lanka which has been accepted.

The Centre on Thursday conveyed to BCCI that it was declining permission to the team to go ahead with the tour on the basis of “recent developments as well as the overall circumstances prevailing at present.” The Indian team was scheduled to play three Tests and five one-day internationals and one Twenty20 beginning January.

“The final decision has been taken. We have got the letter from the sports ministry and the ministry of external affairs not to proceed with the tour”, senior BCCI official Rajeev Shukla said.

The first indication that the tour could be cancelled came when sports minister M S Gill said he was not in favour of the team touring Pakistan after the Mumbai terror attack. “Is it possible for one team to arrive in Mumbai and indulge in mass murder, and have another team go and play cricket in the winter afternoon sun at Lahore immediately after,” the minister had said. The BCCI had left the decision to the government to take a decision and ruled out playing Pakistan at a neutral venue.

The ICC had suggested that the two teams could play at a neutral venue. The decision to cancel the tour was taken even as Parliament passed anti-terror laws in the wake of the recent terror attacks. After Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba carried out the attacks New Delhi made it clear that the peace process will be put on hold till Islamabad acts appropriately.

Tags: India, pakistan