India, Pak planning joint ODI series

India and Pakistan are planning jointly to host a quadrangular series next year which will also involve Zimbabwe and the West Indies, a top Indian cricket official said on Tuesday.

Zimbabwe are scheduled to visit India for a two-Test series next February and March and the West Indies are expected to play a three-Test series in Pakistan over the same period.

"We are talking to the Pakistan Cricket Board," Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary Jaywant Lele said.

"We both thought since Zimbabwe and the West Indies will be playing in the subcontinent at the same time it would be best to organise a quadrangular event with an equal number of matches in both India and Pakistan."

The Indian government earlier this year banned all bilateral cricket between India and Pakistan due to tensions over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.

But the government has said it will allow multilateral tournaments in which India and Pakistan are involved.

India has still to decide if its cricket team will travel to Pakistan in September for a Test match, part of the Asian Test Championship which also involves Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

The government cancelled a proposed Test tour of Pakistan late last year and refused permission for the national team to participate in a one-day series at Sharjah in April involving Pakistan.

Pakistan responded by saying they would sever all cricketing ties with India but softened their stand after the Asian Test Championship match between the two countries was scheduled for Karachi from September 13 to 17.

If India does play the match, it will be their first Test in Pakistan in nearly 12 years.

Mail Cricket Editor