Indian cricket under siege over Pakistan tour

There are few rivalries in international sport more intense than between Pakistan and Indian in cricket, but this time tradional passions look like being completely overshadowed by the militant fervour off the pitch.

The Pakistan team will step off the plane into an unprecedented security blanket that will remain firmly wrapped around them until they fly home again.

The players will be guarded around-the-clock by commandos, while bomb-disposal squads and paramilitary security forces will be on standby at all the match venues.

Extra precautions were ordered following threats by the Hindu militant Shiv Sena party to disrupt the tour because of Pakistan's support for Moslem separatists in Kashmir.

Shiv Sena activists have already dug up the pitch at one of the Test venues and were believed to be behind the ransacking on Monday of the Indian cricket board's headquarters in Bombay.

The party has vowed to mobilise some 25,000 supporters during the tour, and claims to have formed a 50-member suicide squad who will set themselves alight in front of the prime minister's house when the first Test begins on January 28.

The Shiv Sena campaign kept the tour in doubt right up to the last minute, and the concerns are not only for the safety of the Pakistani players.

Party leaders have also threatened to ``target'' Indian cricketers, triggering calls for the tour to be cancelled.

``It is not just the players' safety that is in question now but also that of the common man,'' said Krishnaswamy Kumble, father of Indian international Anil Kumble.

Police protection has been guaranteed for the Indian team, especially high profile stars like Mohammad Azharuddin and Sachin Tendulkar.

``We are not taking any chances,'' Delhi police chief V.N. Singh said, citing intelligence reports that Shiv Sena activists would be flocking to the capital from the nearby states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.

But the police assurances, coupled with personal pledges for the players' safety from Prime Minister Atal Bahari Vajpayee and Home Minister L.K. Advani, have not convinced everyone.

``This is not the right time to play Test cricket,'' said former Test cricketer Dilip Sardesai.

``I am worried about the lives of Indian players, especially those like Tendulkar and Azharuddin who live in Bombay.

``It requires one madman to undo what the security forces have promised.''

Besides two Test matches in Madras and New Delhi, Pakistan are to play the opening Asian Test championship match against the hosts at Calcutta and a triangular one-day series also featuring Sri Lanka.

Plain clothes security personnel will mingle with crowds at all matches, and spectators will be required to reach the ground at least two hours before the start of play.

They will not be allowed to carry handbags, food containers or water bottles.

Calcutta-based industrialist Jagmohan Dalmiya, who heads the International Cricket Council (ICC), admitted Tuesday the situation was getting out of hand.

``As a citizen of India, I feel the incident has affected the country's reputation, I don't know what kind of image of India we are projecting abroad,'' Dalmiya said.

Pakistani captain Wasim Akram, who played in his team's last Test on Indian soil in March 1987, could not hide his lingering fears on the eve of the tour.

``I have told the boys to forget all that happened and just concentrate on the game but it will be difficult,'' he said. ``I can't say what is in store for us in India but let's hope all would end well.''