Lahore, Feb. 23: In keeping with the “minimum exposure” advisory of the Union home ministry, the Indian cricketers will fly out of Karachi and Peshawar immediately after the ODIs there on March 13 and 19, respectively.

In fact, according to details made available to The Telegraph, Sourav Ganguly and Co. are going to reach the two venues on the eve of the match itself and not earlier. Sources confirmed that security concerns have influenced the travel plans.

Also, while the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is “exploring” the possibility of using a chartered aircraft, to ferry both teams, it has already requested PIA to reschedule the Karachi-Islamabad and Peshawar-Lahore flights on the ODI dates to suit the players.

Meanwhile, with the itinerary finalised, the “security protocol” at all five centres — Karachi, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Multan and, of course, Lahore — is being put in place. And, to “ensure” better co-ordination at the local level, PCB chief executive Rameez Raja is beginning a series of meetings from Tuesday.

“I’ll first interact with officials of the Punjab government and, then, go to Karachi and Peshawar... While the teams’ immediate security will be directly handled by Islamabad, there’s still a big role for the local administration. Therefore, I’ll be running a check on what is proposed and, if needed, improvements can be suggested,” Rameez pointed out.

Incidentally, in a nice gesture, the PCB (which is raking in around Rs 120 crore from sponsors, TV rights and advertisers alone) plans to invite some Indian greats of the past. Apparently, it is going to seek the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s opinion before finalising the list.

It’s not been decided, but the invitees may be split into two groups — one getting the invitation for the ODIs and the other being invited for the Test series.