Pakistan want India to play a Test at Karachi

The Pakistan Cricket Board and fans alike have urged India to play a Test in Karachi © Getty Images

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials want India to play a Test match and a one-day international in the port city of Karachi during their tour early next year, an official said on Thursday.

The third cricket series in two years between India and Pakistan will feature three Tests and five one-day internationals between January 1 and February 11, 2006, according to the itinerary sent by the PCB to the Indian board. An Indian cricket board official said the schedule had been referred to the government and was likely to be approved. "We don't anticipate any change by the government."

The Tests are to be played in Lahore (January 5-9), Faisalabad (Jan 13-17) and Karachi (Jan 21-15) after a two-day practice match in Lahore from Jan 2. The one-day matches have been proposed in Peshawar (Jan 28), Rawalpindi (Jan 31), Lahore (February 3), Multan (Feb 6) and Karachi (Feb 11). India will remain in Pakistan after the bilateral tour to take part in the six-nation Asia Cup tournament from February 16-28. India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, the United Arab Emirates and Oman will contest the tournament in various grounds around Pakistan.

When India toured Pakistan in March-April last year, it declined to play a Test match in Karachi but agreed to a one-day match there. In response, Pakistan refused a Test in Ahmedabad, the centre of bloody religious riots in 2002, and opted for a one-day match there during their tour of India earlier this year.

Violence-wrecked Karachi was rejected as a Test venue by South Africa, and also by England during their current tour of Pakistan. A bomb blast outside the New Zealand's team hotel in May 2002, which killed 14 people including 11 French naval engineers, forced that tour to be cancelled.

Jan 1 : India arrive in Lahore
Jan 2-3 : Two-day practice match, Lahore
Jan 5-9 : First Test, Lahore
Jan 13-17: Second Test, Faisalabad
Jan 21-25: Third Test, Karachi
Jan 28 : First one-day, Peshawar
Jan 31 : Second one-day, Rawalpindi
Feb 3 : Third one-day, Lahore
Feb 6 : Fourth one-day, Multan
Feb 11 : Fifth one-day, Karachi