Lahore [Pakistan]: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has reached out to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, as well as the country’s Interior and Foreign Ministries, seeking official clearance for the national team to travel to India for the upcoming ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in October-November, according to ESPNcricinfo.
In a letter, the PCB inquired whether the Pakistan team would be allowed to travel to India and if there were any reservations regarding the five venues selected to host matches featuring the Men in Green. The board also requested guidance on whether the Pakistani government would like to send a security delegation to assess the facilities and arrangements before granting permission for the team’s visit to India for the prestigious event.
Despite strained bilateral relations between the two countries impacting cricketing ties, the PCB formally approached the government on June 26 to seek approval for travelling to India for the World Cup. The board also submitted Pakistan’s schedule for the tournament, which includes nine matches in five cities, including a highly-anticipated clash against India in Ahmedabad on October 15.
“After the World Cup schedule was announced last Tuesday, we wrote to our Patron, Honourable Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, through the Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) Ministry, copying the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Interior, requesting clearance to participate in the World Cup,” the PCB stated, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
“The decision to visit India and approve venues at which we can play our matches is the prerogative of the Government of Pakistan. We have absolute trust in the judgement of our government and will follow whatever is advised. It is entirely up to the Government of Pakistan to formulate and follow the process before advising us on the next steps. If this requires sending an advance team to India to inspect the venues and hold meetings with the event organisers, then it will solely be the government’s decision,” the statement added.
The Pakistani team has not visited India since the 2016 men’s T20 World Cup. In recent years, the participation of both teams in tournaments such as the Asia Cup and World Cup, which were to be hosted by Pakistan and India, respectively, has been uncertain. The PCB had proposed a hybrid model for the Asia Cup, suggesting that India play all their matches at neutral venues, later finalised as Sri Lanka.
Last month, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) announced a hybrid model for the upcoming Asia Cup 2023, with Pakistan set to host four matches out of 13, while the remaining nine games will be played in Sri Lanka. Bilateral series between the two teams have been absent for over a decade, with encounters limited to ICC and ACC tournaments.
Given that the term of the current Pakistani government is set to expire in August, any decision regarding the team’s trip to India is likely to be postponed until the new administration takes office. At present, an official declaration from the current administration appears unlikely. The situation mirrors the events of 2016, when Nawaz Sharif’s government granted last-minute clearance for the team to travel to India following a security assessment delegation sent to the country.
