(CNN) -- Pakistan's first cricket tour of India in five years is set to be hit by a news blackout in an escalating row over press freedom. The high profile tour kicks off with a Twenty20 international in Bangalore on Christmas Day, but all the leading news agencies, such as Thomson-Reuters and Associated Press, have decided against filing match reports. The disagreement stems from an earlier decision by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to exclude photographic news agencies from covering games, including the recent Test series between India and England. "It is regrettable that the politically-charged Pakistan tour will be affected by the BCCI's failure to recognize the long-standing importance of photographic news agencies in the flow of sport and news images every day," said the News Media Coalition, which represents a group of media organizations.
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News blackout for India v Pakistan cricket series
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Coverage boycotted in a row over press freedom
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First time Pakistan has visited India since Mumbai attacks in 2008
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Tight security in place at M. Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore
The BCCI offered it's own photographic content for the India-England series, but newspapers and leading websites outside of @placeholder declined to use them.