Indian communists offer to host India-Pakistan cricket match

The communist government in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal said late Saturday the match could be played in the leftwing bastion of Calcutta, The Hindustan Times reported.

``We are ready to play hosts for the match and will offer all possible security to the members of the visiting (Pakistan) team,'' West Bengal Home Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya was reported as saying in Calcutta.

Calcutta, also the mecca of Indian soccer, is the capital of West Bengal.

Firebrand Hindu militant leader Bal Thackeray has threatened to sabotage cricket matches between India and Pakistan if they are played in Bombay, which is ruled by his Shiv Sena party.

On Saturday, however, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee publicly pledged to protect Pakistani cricketers and said he would not allow their matches to be disrupted by anyone.

``No organisation or individuals would be allowed to obstruct the Pakistani cricket team,'' Vajpayee told reporters after an election rally in the northern city of Jaipur.

The Shiv Sena is an ally of Vajpayee's Hindu nationalists.

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

They will play three Tests and as many one-day internationals during a seven-week tour that starts January 21, the Indian cricket board announced this month.

Pakistan last played Test cricket in India in 1986-87.

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.