Wait, what happened on Tuesday?
On Tuesday morning, Ali Khan, a Pakistan-origin cricketer who plays for the US national team, had announced on his instagram that his visa application to come to India for the World Cup had been 'denied'. Since then, reports have emerged that other Pakistan-origin players from the same team are also facing problems. US are one of the few teams yet to name the 15-man squad but they are already in Sri Lanka for a pre-tournament camp. Incidentally, India's first match is against the US on February 7. After that, they travel to Colombo to face Pakistan before coming back to India to round out their group obligations.
So this has something to do with the players being of Pakistan origin?
Yes, it looks like that. Not just US. A fair number of Associate nations — Oman, Netherlands, Italy and UAE apart from US — have Pakistan origin players in their team. However, the one Dutch player with Pakistan heritage — Saqib Zulfiqar — has not had any issues. "It's all good," one source within the Dutch cricket team told this daily. Because of the existing visa procedures, one wonders if there are players from other teams who are also facing similar issues. This is of course not the first time that Pakistan origin players playing for other nations have faced visa issues while trying to enter India.
Can you explain?
In the beginning of 2024, Shoaib Bashir, the England off-spinner who has Pakistan roots, had to miss the first Test because his visa was delayed. Retired Australia opener Usman Khawaja faced a delay during the 2023 tour of the country. While Pakistan themselves played at the 2023 World Cup across India, a visa delay had led them to cancel a team bonding session.
What are the options available to the ICC?
This is where it gets interesting. Because the ICC has suspended USA Cricket, the world body will have to deal with this issue internally as they are, in a way, responsible for the day-to-day affairs. It is understood that the world body are hopeful of a smooth end to the situation and expectedly, pursuing the matter. In 2025, the ICC had said that boards would be responsible for procuring visas for their players but they would provide documents (letters and so on) to help in that process. ICC is expected to sort this out soon.
What about Bangladesh?
That matter is yet to be resolved but the ICC have pushed back Bangladesh attempts to move their matches to a neutral venue. On Tuesday, the board and the ICC had a video conference but both parties held their existing positions. "During the discussions, the BCB reaffirmed its position regarding the decision not to travel to India, citing security concerns," the BCB said in a statement. "The board also reiterated its request for the ICC to consider relocating Bangladesh's matches outside India." But the ICC are continuing to maintain their stance as of now. On Monday, the world body's own security assessment held that there was no specific security issue for the side in India.