CHENNAI: Even before their much-anticipated clash on the field on October 14, the cricket boards from India and Pakistan were involved in a tussle over the late issuance of visas for the 2023 ODI World Cup. The drama only ended on Monday evening with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) getting an intimation from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad to collect passports and visas.
“Finally, the Indian High Commission in Islamabad has contacted the PCB and asked it to collect passports and visas,” a PCB source told this daily. With the deadlock ending, the 18-member Pakistan cricket team (15 players and three travelling reserves) apart from 15 support staff and officials are scheduled to fly out of Lahore late on Tuesday night and reach Hyderabad via Dubai by Wednesday evening.
The matter was first reported on Friday with the PCB saying it had to cancel a team bonding camp scheduled in Dubai because of the delay. According to the PCB, the plan was to reach Dubai on September 25 and have a two-day short team bonding camp. The issue escalated on Monday with the PCB raising serious concerns with the International Cricket Council (ICC) through a letter addressed to the ICC CEO Geoff Allardice.
Pakistan play two warm-up games and as many World Cup matches in Hyderabad starting with the practice fixture against New Zealand on September 29. According to a statement issued by the BCCI on Monday, the match will take place behind closed doors as per the advice of the local security agencies. The PCB source claimed that it had sent the first batch of passport details on August 18 to the ICC, which in turn sent the visa invitation letter on August 28 to the board. The Pakistan team submitted the applications along with passports at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad on September 19, added the source.
Interestingly, the PCB announced the final squad for the marquee event on September 22, making two changes to the provisional squad by naming pacer Hasan Ali as a replacement for Naseem Shah and dropping Faheem Ashraf in favour of leg-spinner Usama Mir. The source claimed the passports of the two players, who were included in the squad late, were submitted along with others on September 19. Meanwhile, Rachakonda Commissioner of Police, Devendra Singh Chauhan, has confirmed to this daily that security measures are in place for the team.
Full story: newindianexpress.com