Cricketers keen on Pak tour, says Advani

With the Indian cricket team finally cleared to take part in the Pakistan tour, deputy prime minister L K Advani on Sunday said the players were 'very happy' and are keen to prove their prowess there.

"I met the team members in Lucknow yesterday and they were very happy that they have got a chance to tour Pakistan and prove their prowess," Advani said after laying foundation stones for gymnasiums to be built from his MP grant in minority community-dominated Dariapur-Kazipur assembly constituency.

Much to the delight of a small crowd, Advani also made a special mention of Ahmedabad lad Parthiv Patel, "Yeh to hamara hai...Hamare kshetra ka hai" (He is ours...and belongs to our region).

In another function in the city, the deputy prime minister, who has announced that he will contest the next Lok Sabha elections from the Gandhinagar seat, handed over a cheque of Rs 4.50 lakh used to upgrade facilities of the B J Medical College. The funds have been provided through the MLA fund of Pradeepsinh Jadeja, a city MLA.

During the function, Advani said that the BJ Medical College impressed him.

A large chunk of the amount will be used for making reading rooms in three hostel blocks and other facilities.

Earlier, speaking to reporters, Advani took exception to Congress president Sonia Gandhi's comments that the BJP had no other leader than Vajpayee.