According to PCB, The Indian Government Issues Pakistani Team Visas For The World Cup

September 26, 2023 / By Zunair Tahir / Sport News

The Pakistani team’s visas were finally granted by the Indian government on Monday, allowing them to go for the neighboring nation for the World Cup after several delays, Pakistan Cricket Board spokesperson Umar Farooq Kalson revealed

Finally got a call to pick up the passports from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, he added.

The squad will depart from Lahore for Dubai on September 27 before travelling to Hyderabad, India, for two exhibition games against New Zealand and Australia on September 29 and October 3, respectively.

After the PCB complained to the International Cricket Council (ICC) about “extraordinary delays” in the issue of Indian visas, today’s development took place a short while later.

Farooq stated, “We have written to the ICC highlighting our concerns over the unfair treatment of Pakistan and reminded them of these commitments towards the World Cup.

“It’s disappointing that the Pakistani team has to deal with uncertainty before the important competition.”

It had all come down to the final two days with the national team’s first warm-up game planned for September 29. Farooq said the board had been reminding the ICC of duties for the previous three years, but it had all come down to the last two days.

“We had to abandon our initial plan to do team-building activities in Dubai while travelling to India. We have to alter our itinerary and make new reservations, but all arrangements are contingent on the issue of visas, the representative continued.

ESPNcricinfo reports that the visa application was submitted more than a week ago.

The team’s pre-World Cup team-building activity in Dubai had been postponed due to visa issues.

Earlier, the group was supposed to fly out to Dubai on September 25 and spend two days there. On October 6, Pakistan will face the Netherlands in their inaugural game.

In order to attend the competition, fans and media had to apply for visas online through the website of the Indian High Commission.

The applicants were disappointed to see that the webpage was still unavailable. A journalist from Lahore who covers sports stated he and his colleagues sports reporters had to pay agents to fill out the online applications for them in order to avoid potential visa issues.

Visa applicants said they had been instructed to use a VPN in order to access the high commission’s website due to problems with accessibility.

Earlier, the Board of Control for Cricket in India, the country’s national cricket regulatory body, and the International Cricket Council (ICC) all complained that even media members accredited with them were having problems.

If the problem remained, the group urged the Indian High Commission to accept handwritten visa applications. The message also said that because there wasn’t much time left until the huge event started, the media should be assisted.

According to PCB, The Indian Government Issues Pakistani Team Visas For The World Cup

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