Indian cricket fans have given the hotel industry on Durban's beachfront a major boost over the next week when Sourav Ganguly's team will be in town to play Kenya in the World Cup semi-finals.

Thousands of Indians, including the 'Bharat Army', have booked in hotels and other accommodation in the city for the semi-final.

The general manager of the Elangeni Hotel, where the Indian team will be staying, said his hotel and other sister hotels are fully booked for this weekend until the semi-final.

"While teams have been booked into our hotel, many travelling supporters have also booked to stay with us and in our group's sister hotels along the beachfront," he said.

The CEO of Natal Cricket, Cassim Docrat, said there is great interest for the India-Kenya semi-final not only from locals but also from people outside the province and the country.

"India has a lot of support locally and this is creating a great deal of interest and enthusiasm," he said.

Lok Sabha member Mohan Rawale met Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Thursday handed him a letter signed by several Members of Parliament demanding felicitation of ace batsman Sachin Tendulkar in the Central Hall of Parliament and honouring him with the Bharat Ratna.

Lauding Tendulkar's contribution in the field of cricket, the MPs said in the letter that all cricket-loving people throughout the world are proud of him.

"So, he deserves the highest award in the country," they said and cited the instances of the famous sitar maestro Ravi Sai player Bismillah Khan and melody queen Lata Mangeshkar, who had been honoured with the Bharat Ratna.

Disgraced Australian cricket legend Shane Warne is set to return to South Africa just after the World Cup final for a series of lucrative speaking engagements.

Warne, who was suspended from all cricket for 12 months after failing a drugs test for a banned diuretic, has been signed up to speak at functions in Durban, on March 26, and Johannesburg, on March 28.

"Although Shane has been banned from the game, the dates were fixed before that time and I have no problems with him coming here," Ross Fraser, the head of organising body CorporateSport, told AFP on Thursday.

"He will be involved in three functions -- two in Durban and Johannesburg -- as well as a golf day which has yet to be finalised," added Fraser."

"Originally, he was going to stay on after the tournament, but of course those plans changed. He will probably now come on the Monday after the final as he has no desire to interfere with the Australian team."

The Indian cricket team on Thursday condemned the bomb blast in a local train in Mumbai on Wednesday which killed 12 and injured 70 persons.

"The team is deeply shocked by the loss of lives in Mumbai as a result of the bomb blast," a statement from the team said.

"The team deplores the violent act and conveys its condolences to the families of the victims."

The Indians, who beat New Zealand on Thursday,  finished their Super Six matches with an all-win record to tally 20 points. They will now take on Kenya on March 20 for a place in the final.

Kenya announced on Friday they would press for Test status from 2005 after their team reached the semi-finals of the cricket World Cup.

Sharad Ghai, a senior Kenya Cricket Association official, told reporters: "We will be asking that we be admitted to Test status from 2005. We do not want to rush, and we will use the time to put together the required infrastructure."

Ghai said KCA officials would make their case at an International Cricket Council executive board meeting in Johannesburg coinciding with the end of the World Cup.

Ghai said the sport in Kenya is crying out for funding but that would not be possible without Test status. Kenya's team did not even have an official sponsor at the World Cup.

Bangladesh were the last team to be awarded Test status three years ago. They have not won a single Test match and not won a one-dayer since 1999.