Indian PM vows to protect Pakistani cricketers

``No organisation or individuals would be allowed to obstruct the Pakistani cricket team,'' Vajpayee said without naming the leader of a rightwing Hindu group which has threatened to disrupt the tour next year.

``The government will see to it that the Pakistani cricket team during its proposed tour of India is able to play without hindrances,'' Vajpayee told reporters after an election rally in this central Indian town.

Pakistan are scheduled to play their first Test series on Indian soil in 11 years early next year.

They will play three Tests and as many one-day internationals during the seven-week tour starting January 21, the Indian cricket board announced earlier this month in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka.

Pakistan last played Test cricket in India during the 1986-87 season when Imran Khan's visitors won the five-match series 1-0.

Pakistan twice cancelled scheduled tours in 1993 and 1994, citing security fears, but played in India during the limited-overs World Cup in 1996 and last year's Independence Cup tournament.

Hindu firebrand leader Bal Thackeray, whose Shiv Sena party rules the western state of Maharashtra, has renewed threats to prevent the Pakistanis playing on Indian soil.

The Shiv Sena is an ally of Vajpayee's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP, Indian People's Party).

The Indian cricket board has said it could drop a match in Bombay, Thackeray's stronghold, in case the Hindu nationalists renewed their threats against the Pakistanis.

Sources say the cities of Calcutta, Madras and Bangalore may host the Test matches, while the one-dayers will be played in Mohali, Cuttack and Kanpur.