Khel hi nahin, Dil bhi jeetiye. Meri shubkamna aapke saath (Not just the game, win hearts too. My best wishes are with you).With these words, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee saw off the Indian cricket team as they headed for Lahore today.As Vajpayee underlined the importance of the cricket series in the context of Indo-Pak relations and increasing people-to-people contact, cricket enthusiasts, mostly school children, gathered at the Prime Minister’s residence and held aloft placards which read Atal ne diya cricket ka uphaar, India-Pakistan sadbhavana ka prachar (Atal’s cricket gift preaches harmony between India and Pakistan). The Indian team spent nearly 40 minutes with the Prime Minister. Sports Minister Vikram Verma and Minister of State for Sports Vijay Goel were also present.Verma quoted the PM as saying Vijaybhava (be victorious). He said there were no plans yet of either Vajpayee or Advani making a trip to Pakistan to watch any of the one-dayers or test matches.The Indian team was briefed on security measures by Inspector General of Police Yashovardhan Azad and Additional Commissioner of Police Manoj Lall. They were told that the security contingent had been split into two groups. While Azad and Lall would stay with the cricketers until March 22, a second group, led by DIG Dharmendra Kumar and Additional DCP (Security) Prabhakar, would take over for the remainder of the tour.The security arrangement even has an evacuation plan in the event of strike by militants. The players will be briefed at length a day before the first ODI in Karachi.
