Members of the Pakistan cricket team were granted Indian visas for the ODI World Cup on Monday, the International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed, hours after the PCB raised serious concerns with the global body over the delay in the national team’s trip to Hyderabad. The visa approval came less than 48 hours before the scheduled trip from Pakistan to India in the early hours of September 27. They will play their first warm-up match against New Zealand in Hyderabad on September 29. “Visa have been issued to Pakistan,” an ICC said. spokesperson told PTI.
However, confusion persisted in the Pakistani camp over the granting of visas.
“We have not yet received a call from the Indian High Commission regarding the visa approval. A member of our team is stationed there,” PCB spokesperson Umar Farooq told PTI.
The ICC’s confirmation came after the PCB wrote to ICC CEO Geoff Allardice on Monday about the visa delay, claiming the anxious wait had negatively affected the team’s preparation for the 50-plus showpiece.
Pakistan were scheduled to have a two-day team bonding session in Dubai before their scheduled arrival in Hyderabad on September 27, but it was canceled due to the uncertainty over the Indian visa.
The Babar Azam-led team will play two warm-up matches and as many World Cup matches in Hyderabad, starting with the practice match against New Zealand.
In the letter to Allardice, the PCB also claimed that its concerns over the granting of visas to players, team officials, fans and journalists for the World Cup in India have not been addressed for more than three years. It also added that such unequal treatment of Pakistan will not be acceptable.
Farooq echoed these concerns and added: “There have been extraordinary delays in obtaining clearance and obtaining Indian visas for the Pakistan team for the ICC World Cup.
“We have written to the ICC to express our concerns about the unequal treatment of Pakistan and to remind them of these obligations towards the World Cup. It is a matter of disappointment that the Pakistan team has to go through the uncertainty ahead of the big tournament.
“We have been recalling their commitments over the past three years and it has all come down to the past two days with our first hot match scheduled for September 29. “We were forced to change our original plan to organize team building exercises in Dubai on the We have had to rework our plan and book new flights, but these plans are subject to the issuance of visas,” he said.
Pakistan last visited India for the T20 World Cup in 2016. The arch-rivals will only play each other in the Asia Cup and ICC tournaments due to strained relations between the two countries.
PCB sources said that flight tickets of around 35 members have been rebooked as the trip to Dubai has been canceled. The team will now leave Lahore for Hyderabad in the early hours of September 27 and reach Hyderabad via Dubai overnight.
“The warm-up match is less than four days away and the players are in a state of limbo. If the players have to experience delays, one can only wonder what will happen to the visa applications of fans and journalists,” the source said.
Visa applications from Pakistan require permission from three ministries: Home Affairs, Foreign Affairs and Sports.
Pakistan’s second warm-up match is against Australia on October 3, also in Hyderabad.
They will remain in the city for their first two World Cup matches against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka on October 6 and 10 respectively before flying to Ahmedabad for the big match against hosts India on October 14.
Only two members of the current Pakistan squad have toured India for cricket: Mohammad Nawaz and Salman Agha.
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