India's tour of Pakistan is 'impossible' - Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar, the former Indian captain, has said it will be "impossible" for India to tour Pakistan early next year given the deterioration in political relations between the two countries following the Mumbai terror attacks.

"It will be difficult in any case for the Indian players to play against Pakistan at the moment," Gavaskar told CNN-IBN. "Diplomatically there has been a falling-out between the two nations and I don't see why cricket won't follow suit and so at the moment it is impossible to go ahead with the tour."

India are scheduled to tour Pakistan from January 6 to February 19 for five one-dayers and three Tests, subject to government clearance. Reports have suggested that the Indian government could take a tough stand, after evidence linked some of the terrorists with Pakistan, which leaves the tour in doubt.

England's visit to India had also been in doubt after players expressed concerns about their safety in the wake of the Mumbai violence. With that tour about to get underway under tight security, just fifteen days after the strikes, Gavaskar felt the Tests would lack intensity. "The guys will be concentrating and focusing once they take the field for sure because they are trained in that way," he said. "But it won't be easy and I feel the free spirit or the intensity with which they played in the one-dayers won't be there this time."