Pak books seats for Indian fans
20 February 2004
The Times of India
PASSAGE TO PAKISTAN
Pak books seats for Indian fans
By Siddharth Varadarajan
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Lahore: When Sachin Tendulkar goes out to bat during the tour of Pakistan, he is likely to be greeted by tricolourwaving spectators.
Under an innovative plan being worked out by the Pakistan Cricket Board for the three Tests and five one-dayers, a minimum percentage of seats is to be set aside for Indian spectators who will be sprinkled across all stands rather than being confined to one or two enclosures.
PCB chairman Shahryar Khan told Indian reporters at the Gaddafi stadium on Thursday that fans in India will either be able to book tickets online or purchase them through the BCCI, in
consultation with which the PCB will finalise the ticket allocation plan. One proposal is for 15 to 20 per cent of the seats to be reserved for Indians.
‘‘Even if we manage to reserve 10 per cent of seats, that means some 4,000 Indian fans will be able to see the fixture in Lahore,’’ said PCB media manager Samiul Hasan. In smaller venues like Peshawar or Multan, which seat a maximum of 20,000-25,000, the PCB is confident of accommodating 1,500 to 2,000 Indians.
Siddharth Varadarajan 