The national cricket team of Pakistan received its Indian visas yesterday evening hours after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) wrote to the International Cricket Board (ICC) regarding the delay in getting the visas. The ICC World Cup 2023 is set to begin in India on October 5. The Indian High Commission granted the visas for the Pakistan team yesterday at 8 pm, The Indian Express reported.
Under their original schedule, the Pakistani team was supposed to have a two-day camp in Dubai on Monday and Tuesday before their flight to Hyderabad. However, the delay in getting the Indian visas forced a cancellation of their boot camp and their flights had to be rescheduled to Wednesday.
Now the team will leave Lahore to Dubai tomorrow morning before they take a flight to Hyderabad. Pakistan will play the first of their two practice matches in Hyderabad on Friday against New Zealand.
PCB’s reaction on Indian visas
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) called the delay in procurng the visas an “extraordinary delay”. “We have written to the ICC raising our concerns about inequitable treatment towards Pakistan and reminding them of their obligations towards the World Cup,” it said.
It also expressed its “disappointment” at the “uncertainty” the Pakistani team had to go through ahead of the tournament. “We have been reminding them about their obligations for the last three years and it has all come down to the last two days with our first warm-up game scheduled on September 29,” it said.