Pakistan tour muddled as D-day looms

Pakistan's first Test tour of India in over six years is mired in confusion and controversy with only two weeks to go for its planned start.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India is yet to finalise match dates, there is uncertainty surrounding the venues and a court battle is on over who should get the broadcast rights.

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Even if the BCCI clears the air in its meeting in New Delhi on February 17, it will give them just over a week to work out logistics and organise flights, accommodation and ticket sales before Pakistan arrive on February 25.

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"Things are taking time, but we hope to sort everything out in our working committee meeting," said BCCI Karunakaran Nair.

"We've already got a plan, things only need to be finalised."

There are, however, several road blocks along the way before the three Tests and five one-dayers start.

The biggest problem is over holding a Test in Ahmedabad, the volatile main city in the western Gujarat state which was rocked by India's worst communal riots in a decade in 2002.

The Pakistan Board has requested the match be shifted, though their decision has led to some Hindu hardline groups calling for cancellation of the tour if Pakistan refuses to play in Ahmedabad.

TV IMBROGLIO

To add to the chaos, fans still do not know if they will be able to watch the series on television.

The BCCI backed out of its four-year, $308 million deal with India's biggest listed media firm, Zee Telefilms, in September after it was challenged in court by unsuccessful bidder and rival ESPN Star Sports, owned by Walt Disney Co. and News Corp.

"The dates and the venues will be done. But we're still not sure about the TV rights. It's a court matter, so we need feedback from our legal experts," Nair said.

India's top court last week dismissed a petition by Zee though the Madras high court on Wednesday told the BCCI not to finalise any deal till its hearing on February 17.

Similar confusion had threatened the Australia series last October before the court allowed the BCCI to sell the rights to Sony Entertainment and Dubai-based TEN Sports.

Cricket corners more than three-quarters of all sports advertising money in India, and while the series is the most lucrative sports property this year advertisers are weary of the wrangling and indecision that have dogged the broadcast rights in recent months.

"You can't afford to give India-Pakistan a miss, but there's a lot of frustration," said Ravi Kiran, general manager, Starcom Worldwide, the media buying arm of Leo Burnett.

"We'd rather get a quick decision."

(Additional reporting by Rina Chandran)