Pakistan await confirmation over visas for Cricket World Cup in India
Pakistan are reportedly the only team waiting for their visas to travel to the ICC Cricket World Cup on Monday.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has reportedly been in contact with the ICC after the visas have not been issued, espncricinfo has reported.
The background is obviously a tense political situation between the nations, with travel between the two severely limited and extensive problems remain for those from either Pakistan or India trying to obtain visas for the other.
The last time the teams played each other outside a major ICC event was for a white-ball series in 2012-2013, but it was an outlier and since the nations were founded relations have often been fractious.
Only two members of the Pakistan squad have travelled to India for cricket previously, Mohammad Nawaz and Agha Salman.
Pakistan had intended to fly to the United Arab Emirates ahead of the warm-up matches for a couple of days, but as the visas have not been issued, less than two days before the scheduled departure.
The national will still have to travel to the Gulf nation before flying to India, but the visas have not yet been issued.
Pakistan’s first match in India will also be played behind closed doors. The warm-up match scheduled for 29 September in Hyderabad against New Zealand will not have any supporters in attendance and refunds issued for those who had hoped to attend.
The police reportedly were not able to assure the ICC that sufficient security would be in place due to two religious festivals taking place around the date of the match.
The recent Asia Cup was originally awarded to Pakistan, but only four matches took place there, with India not permitted to travel. The rest of the tournament was held in Sri Lanka.
India will take on Pakistan in the most highly anticipated fixture of the 2023 Cricket World Cup on 14 October at the 134,000-seater stadium in Ahmedabad.
