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Board in a dither about Sahara squad

The schedule for the Sahara Cup is common knowledge, but the Board of Control for Cricket in India is still dithering on the kind of team to send for the annual, five-ODI encounter against traditional rivals Pakistan.

Apparently, the board bigwigs are trying to decide between the Commonwealth Games, wherein the country's prestige is at stake, and the Sahara Cup, which brings in a lot of moolah.

Till recently, the board has been declaring that the best team will go to Toronto and a second string will make it to Kuala Lumpur for the games. Pakistan, for its part, has already indicated that it will follow a similar pattern, having picked an obvious second string for the Games, while the top players have been included in the provisional squad of 18 for Toronto.

The board's plans, however, have taken a beating following critisism from the Indian Olympic Organisation, which is the final authority when it comes to participation in Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and other such international sporting encounters.

IOA secretary Randhir Singh has said that under no circumstances will an Indian second eleven be allowed to play in Kuala Lumpur, where cricket is being introduced for the first time in the Games as a medal sport.

BCCI president Raj Singh Dungarpur said in Mumbai that he was in touch with Randhir Singh, and that the board, and the IOA, would sort the issue out in tandem.

Adding a piquant edge to the situation is the fact that the host nation, Malaysia, has reacted caustically to the BCCI's preference for dollars rather than international medals.

India is grouped with Australia, which has already announced a full team to take part in the Games. Only one team from the group will make it past the league phase, which means that an Indian second string has no chance of making the semifinals against a full strength Australian side.

Raj Singh didn't seem too concerned at the failure of talks between India and Pakistan at the SAARC summit in Colombo. Asked if the diplomatic setback could hinder the BCCI's plans of reviving Indo-Pak Test series, the BCCI boss said that the planned series was a long way off yet, and that there was no need to bother about the SAARC failure.

Pakistan is slated to visit India for a full tour at the end of the year -- and that will be its first in 10 years.