New Delhi: The India government will send a team to assess the security situation in Pakistan before the Indian cricket team’s tour to the neighbouring country in January-February next year.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has approached the foreign ministry with a proposal to send a team of “technical experts” to Pakistan to assess the situation.

The ministry, as of now, is not ready to drop its guard on the security situation. It wants the experts to submit their report before coming to a decision.

Sources said that it would like the experts to make the necessary recommendations.

“We wouldn’t like something to happen to our players (imagine the uproar it can create). Let’s leave it to the experts. Let them decide how safe Pakistan is”, one source revealed.

Pakistan Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani had said on Thursday that he would personally request the Indian government to send the team to his country.

Gilani had assured Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ejaz Butt that he would do everything possible to ensure India’s tour is not cancelled.

The Telegraph had reported earlier that plans were afoot in Pakistan to ensure the cricket team’s tour does not share the fate of the Indian junior hockey team.

The Indian government had denied permission to the junior hockey team’s tour earlier this month because of security fears.

Security has been an issue in Pakistan as there has been a spate of blasts in the country in recent times, including the blast at the Marriott Hotel on September 20, after which the International Cricket Council decided to put off the Champions Trophy that was scheduled to have been held in the country.