Minister of State for Sports and Youth Affairs Vikram Verma said the Indian cricket team would play all its matches in Zimbabwe during the coming World Cup tournament.

The governments of Australia and England have, in recent days, called for a review of the scheduling, pointing to social and political problems in that country under the Robert Mugabe regime and suggesting that it was both unsafe, and morally untenable, to play there.

Verma said he did not agree with the Australian and British perception on this issue, and added that "As far as India is concerned, we have not got any inputs which tell us that our players would be in danger if they played in Zimbabwe. The Australian and British governments might have their own assessments. Their players might have felt that there is a threat to them because of other reasons. We have no such information with us right now."

Asked if this decision was subject to review, Verma said the question does not arise. "We will go by what the Board of Control for Cricket in India tells us," the minister said. "We have given clearance to the team after getting all necessary political inputs."

As per schedule, India is slated to play Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club grounds, in a Group A encounter on February 19.

Responding in passing to a question about the continued standoff on the issue of player contracts, Verma said it was up to the BCCI, the ICC and the players to come to a solution.

As far as the government is concerned, the minister emphasized, it is aware of the ramifications of the problem and has decided to extend total support to any decision the BCCI and the players may take.