Pakistan Cricket Team has been issued Indian visas for travel to India ahead of the ICC World Cup 2023.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed the development on Monday (25 September 2023) evening that the Indian Government has approved the visas for the Pakistan team. The Indian High Commission in Islamabad has intimated to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) that the passports of the traveling party could now be collected.
This confirmation comes hours after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) expressed their concerns citing ‘extraordinary delay’ in securing the visas and also revealed that they had taken up the matter with the ICC. However, ICC sources told this website that the process took normal administrative procedures.
The delay resulted because PCB submitted their applications late. Sources say the complaint that they could not travel to Dubai cuts no ice because there was always the need for biometric tests. Besides, given the dynamics of the India-Pakistan diplomatic equation, a 10-day process was always in order because three ministries in India, including External Affairs and Home, are involved in the clearance of Pakistan visas.
The same procedure is adopted for all applications from Pakistan and there was no specific delay in this case. A case in point is the delay in visa issue for Usman Khawaja ahead of this year’s Border-Gavaskar Test series. Although he is now Australian, Khawaja’s application had to go through different stages resulting in his late travel.
Earlier, the PCB said it raised the concerns with ICC over what it called an inevitable treatment. PCB spokesman, Umar Farooq said, “There has been an extraordinary delays in getting clearance and securing Indian visas for the Pakistan team for ICC World Cup. We have written to ICC raising our concerns about inequitable treatment towards Pakistan and reminding them of these obligations towards the World Cup.
“It’s a matter of disappointment that the Pakistan team has to go through the uncertainty ahead of the major tournament. We have been reminding them about their obligations for the last three years and it has all come down to the last two days with our first warm game scheduled on 29 September 2023. We were forced to cancel our original plan to organize team-building exercises in Dubai on the way to India. We have had to rework our plan and book new flights, but these plans are subject issuance of visas.”
Later the PCB confirmed that it received the intimation of the visa approval. The team will depart for Hyderabad, the venue of their first game and warm-up games, at 15.30 PM on Wednesday (27 September 2023).
Meanwhile, BCCI confirmed that the official World Cup warm-up fixture between New Zealand and Pakistan, scheduled to take place in Hyderabad on 29 September 2023 will be played behind closed doors as per the advice of the local security agencies. The match in Hyderabad coincides with festivals on the day and large gatherings are expected around the city. The spectators who bought tickets for the game will receive a full refund.