New Delhi - India's cricket tour to Pakistan was called off on Thursday in the wake of last month's terrorist attacks in Mumbai that have strained ties between the neighbours, officials said. India's cricket squad led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni were to tour Pakistan in January and February next year but the Indian government refused permission to the team to travel to Pakistan.
The government's decision, based on "diplomatic reasons as well as security concerns" was conveyed to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Shashank Manohar, officials in the External Affairs Ministry said.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and the Sports Minister MS Gill had also called up Manohar to convey the decision, BCCI spokesman Rajeev Shukla said.
"Both Mr Gill and Mr Mukherjee have informed us that the tour is not possible. That is why we consider the tour scrapped,"Shukla told reporters in Delhi.
"The government has declined permission to go ahead with the tour taking into account the recent developments in Mumbai as well as the overall circumstances prevailing at present," Shukla said citing a government letter sent to the BCCI.
India were scheduled to play three Tests, five one-day matches and a Twenty20 match in Pakistan.
The Pakistan Cricket Board could lose earnings of up to 20 million dollars due to the cancellation of the tour, local media reported.
It had been clear that the cricket tour would be called off in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks, which New Delhi blames were carried out by Pakistan-based militant groups.
In an interview with the PTI news agency last week, Gill said it was not the right time to play cricket with Pakistan when "people from their soil were indulging in mass murder in India."
Senior Indian cricket players had voiced their concerns of travelling to Pakistan because of the security situation in the country, the PTI reported.
The report said the cancellation of the tour had not only put a question mark on the sporting ties between the neighbours, but will also have a bearing on the 2011 Cricket World Cup being jointly hosted by four Asian countries including India and Pakistan.
