Pakistan get visas 48 hours before ICC World Cup 2023, fingers pointed at PCB for delay in application

With less than a couple of days before their scheduled departure to Hyderabad, India for the ICC World Cup 2023, the Pakistan cricket team was granted Indian visas on Monday evening (September 25).

The Pakistan team which was scheduled to head to Dubai in the (UAE) for a two-day camp before flying into India will now directly fly to Hyderabad India, via Dubai on Wednesday (September 27) for the World Cup which starts on September 5 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

The India-Pakistan clash on October 14 in Ahmedabad is the tournament's highlight.

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Delay in visas for Pakistan

• The visa confirmation came after a couple of hours of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) writing a strongly-worded letter to the International Cricket Council (ICC) regarding the visa delay.
• The ICC issued a visa invitation letter to the team on August 28, and visa applications were submitted to the Indian High Commission in Islamabad on September 19, with the team's first warm-up game scheduled for September 29, just ten days away.
• The International Cricket Council (ICC) responding to the PCB's concerns, an ICC spokesperson stated, "Visas have been issued to the Pakistan team."

• According to Umar Farooq, PCB spokesperson, they sent the first batch of passports for applications on August 18 to the ICC.
• The remaining passports were sent for approval on September 19, only after the team got back from Sri Lanka after the Asia Cup.

However, it is noteworthy that, the Pakistani team played its last match on September 14 where it was knocked out by Sri Lanka.

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Rescheduling

• The visa delay has prompted the two-day Dubai camp to be cancelled, and new flight arrangements have been made for a departure on Wednesday.
• This rescheduling impacted the team's preparation and disrupted their plans for pre-tournament team-building exercises in Dubai, said the PCB spokesperson.
• The Pakistani team is scheduled to play two warm-up matches, the first against New Zealand on September 29 and the second against Australia on October 3, in Hyderabad.

The visa delays can also be seen in light of the complex dynamics between India and Pakistan in bilateral cricket. Matches between the two, in the last decade have primarily been played in multi-team events like the World Cup and Asia Cup.

Earlier, the PCB had threatened to withdraw from the World Cup in India after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) refused to travel to Pakistan for the Asia Cup. The Pakistan team's participation was only confirmed after receiving approval from the Pakistani Foreign Ministry.

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