Where will Dhoni be captaining in January-February?

Calcutta: With confusion doing the rounds, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has moved the government for permission to tour Pakistan in January-February 2009.

Shashank Manohar, the BCCI president, said as much to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman, Ejaz Butt, on Tuesday evening.

The BCCI expects to hear from New Delhi within a fortnight.

While Manohar’s call to Butt should make him and the rest of the PCB brass breathe a little easy, plans are nevertheless being firmed to ensure that Team India’s tour does take place.

There’s been a doubt ever since the hockey colts were recently denied permission to tour Pakistan.

According to The Telegraph’s sources in Lahore (where the PCB is headquartered) and Karachi, step No. 1 would be taken at the governmental level.

Quickly too.

Given the importance of the next few weeks, it’s significant that the country’s defence minister, Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar, is Butt’s brother-in-law.

“The defence minister can be expected to deliver on whatever guarantees are sought by India… He’s bound to be a big player in the lead-up to the tour (scheduled from January 4 to February 19),” a well-placed source pointed out.

Also, while he may not come on the scene prominently, Pakistan’s President, Asif Ali Zardari, is the PCB’s patron.

Moving away from the corridors of power, it won’t be surprising if the PCB indulges in a bit of arm-twisting over the Indian Cricket League (ICL) issue as well.

“It’s because of the BCCI that the PCB banned those who’ve joined the ICL… But if the BCCI won’t help Pakistan cricket in its hour of crisis, then the PCB isn’t obliged to keep it happy,” emphasised another well-placed source.

Hosting India for three Tests, five ODIs and a one-off Twenty20 is objective No. 1, with swapping tours (in case of New Delhi’s no) being second on the PCB’s list.

If it comes to a swap, the PCB would lose hefty earnings from TV rights, but could make up in 2010, when (after a revised arrangement) it would be India’s turn to tour Pakistan.

However, as somebody influential in the BCCI stated: “Swapping tours isn’t as easy as it seems… A number of issues are involved…”

Not least being that nobody could guarantee the 2010 tour, should Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Co. not go over next year.

The other options being talked about are: (a) to host the Tests in Pakistan, but shift the ODIs and the Twenty20 match to neutral territory — Abu Dhabi/Dubai; (b) schedule everything at neutral venues — Tests in England and the limited overs engagements in Abu Dhabi/Dubai.

One question could, of course, be why think of moving the ODIs and the Twenty20 match to neutral territory if the Tests can be hosted in Pakistan?

The answer: Owing to massive crowds, the risk is much higher in the shorter forms of cricket. Where Tests are concerned, hardly anybody bothers to show up.

Few, indeed, did during the just-ended India versus Australia series. It wasn’t any better when we played three Tests in Sri Lanka, in July-August.

Obviously, the issue of TV rights would be there, but the PCB wouldn’t lose a dollar if the 2002 model is followed, when it ‘hosted’ the three-Test series against Australia in Colombo (one match) and Sharjah.

That was some months after the suicide bombing in Karachi, metres outside the hotel where the New Zealand team was staying.

The Australians will come into the picture this time too, as the Ricky Pontings are scheduled to tour Pakistan some weeks after Team India.

Should India be made to swap tours or if matches are held at neutral venues, then Pakistan won’t also be able to host the Champions Trophy, in the latter part of 2009.

In August, after weeks of uncertainty, the tournament got deferred by a year following misgivings over the security environment there.