According to a source, the ICC has confirmed that the Indian government has granted visas to the Pakistan cricket team so that they can participate in the ODI World Cup.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Monday that the Indian government has awarded visas to members of the Pakistan cricket squad so that they could travel to Hyderabad to compete in the One-Day International World Cup. Pakistan was only granted their visa a little over 48 hours before their intended departure for India on the morning of September 27. On September 29, they will face New Zealand in Hyderabad in their first exhibition match. “Visas have been issued to Pakistan,” an ICC spokeswoman confirmed to PTI.
However, the Pakistani side was still unclear on the visa issue.
The Indian High Commission has not contacted us on visa approval as of yet. PCB spokesman Umar Farooq told PTI, “We have a member of our team based there.”
The ICC confirmed the PCB’s assertion that the team’s preparation for the 50-over showpiece had been hampered by the visa delay after the PCB wrote to ICC CEO Geoff Allardice on Monday.
The Pakistan team had planned a two-day team-building exercise in Dubai before their September 27 arrival in Hyderabad, but this was postponed due to visa issues with India.
Starting with a practice match against New Zealand, the Babar Azam-led squad will play two more World Cup games in Hyderabad.
The PCB wrote to Allardice saying it has been waiting for more than three years for its concerns to be addressed about visas for players, team officials, supporters, and journalists attending the World Cup in India. It went on to say that unfair treatment of Pakistan is unacceptable.
Farooq echoed these worries by saying, “There has been an extraordinary delay in getting clearance and securing Indian visas for the Pakistan team for the ICC World Cup.”
We have written to the ICC to express our displeasure with their unfair treatment of Pakistan and to remind them of their World Cup responsibilities. That the Pakistani team must deal with doubt just before a major competition is a source of regret.
Our first preseason game is set for September 29, and we have been reminding them of their responsibilities for the past three years. Unfortunately, the team-building event we had planned to hold in Dubai en route to India had to be rescheduled. The issuing of visas has forced us to make adjustments to our original plan and book new flights, he said.
Pakistan has not been to India since 2016 for the Twenty20 World Cup. Due to the harsh relations between the two countries, the arch-rivals only play each other in the Asia Cup and the ICC events.
With the Dubai trip canceled, over 35 PCB members have rescheduled their flights. The group will now depart Lahore for Hyderabad early on September 27 and travel through Dubai to get there.
There are less than four days until the tune-up game, and the players are still in the dark. One source speculated that if the players were experiencing visa application difficulties, supporters and journalists might as well give up hope.
Pakistani visa requests must be approved by the Ministries of Interior, Foreign Affairs, and Sports.
On October 3 in Hyderabad, Pakistan will play Australia in their second warm-up match.
They will play their first two World Cup games in the city, on October 6 and 10, against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka, respectively, before heading to Ahmedabad for the championship game on October 14 against the hosts, India.
Only Mohammad Nawaz and Salman Agha, two of the current Pakistan squad, have been to India on a cricket trip.
