India tries to defuse cricket row

An apology from the armed forces for withdrawing from a cricket tournament in Indian-controlled Kashmir should be accepted, the home minister says.

P Chidambaram said the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) should fix fresh dates for the matches.

Officials in Kashmir protested after the last-minute withdrawal by the armed services team from a match in Srinagar.

The Services Sports Control Board said conditions were not conducive for the team to play.

According to reports, security reasons were behind the decision.

"Services have offered apology and I think this should be accepted and fresh dates should be picked up for the match"

Mr Chidambaram, who is on a day's visit to Jammu, the winter capital of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, told reporters that he had raised the issue with the defence minister after it became known that the armed services team had withdrawn from Tuesday's Ranji Trophy match in Srinagar.

The team forfeited the match and was banned from the rest of the tournament.

Farooq Abdullah, who chairs the state's cricket association, blamed officials who did not want peace and progress.

Mr Abdullah, a former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, said the decision contradicted the Indian government's positive assessment of security at a time when violence in Kashmir was on the wane.