Indians bowled over by Multan

The stadium, which staged its first Test in 2001, has ‘‘good dressing room facilities, an excellent viewing area for the players, lots of space for them to eat, keep their kit’’, the official said. The ground — capacity 25,000, with a press box that can hold 250 — is part of a complex having 12 pitches in all, with four practice pitches inside the main stadium.

What gives it the edge, though, in the security context, is that the dressing room is cut off from the rest of the stadium. The bus can drive up almost to the lift that takes the players to the dressing room. ‘‘From a security point of view, it’s perfect’’, the official said.

It’s also better planned from the spectators’ point of view— access to the ground is well controlled and need not result in a bustle at one or two gates. And, unlike the dusty, characterless concrete bowls of the subcontinent, the MCS is aesthetically designed in red brick and blue tiles (Multan shares a tradition of blue pottery with Jaipur).

The MCS rose out of near-barren land, at least in cricketing terms. Despite Inzamam’s emergence, there were no cricketing facilities. Things began moving when General Tauqir Zia took over as chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), and launched a project to remake and build stadiums in non-cricketing parts of the country.

However, the recce team pointed out one disadvantage of Multan: the lack of adequate star hotel accommodation. Multan has only one four-star hotel (the Holiday Inn) and no five stars. ‘‘This is enough to accommodate the teams, officials and TV crew’’, said the BCCI official. ‘‘There are a few other smaller hotels but for the rest of the cricket circus, yes, there will be a problem.’’

In contrast, the stadium in Faislabad is ordinary but the hotel facilities there are excellent. The Aga Khan has promoted the Serena Hotel chain and the Serena in Faislabad should be able to take in a lot of guests.