Ashish Ranjan
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is seeking official permission to travel to India beginning October 5 for the ODI World Cup 2023. The board has sent a letter to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the foreign ministry, requesting a response regarding whether the Pakistan cricket team is permitted to travel to India and whether there are any issues at any of the five venues where Pakistan will play.
The missive also inquires whether the Pakistani government intends to dispatch a security reconnaissance team prior to the tournament. Notably, all of Pakistan’s league matches will take place in Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Kolkata. According to reports, PCB penned the letter on June 26 as a required measure, as travel to India requires special government permission.
According to ESPNCricinfo, no deadline has been set for the government’s response; however, it is unlikely that PCB will travel without government clearance. The PCB also provided the government with Pakistan’s comprehensive schedule, which includes the October 15 high-stakes match against India in Ahmedabad.
“As soon as the World Cup schedule was released last Tuesday, we wrote to our Patron, the Honorable Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, through the Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) Ministry, copying the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Interior, requesting permission to participate in the World Cup,” the Pakistan Cricket Board told ESPNcricinfo.
The PCB added that the government could also dispatch a team to India to inspect the venues and confer with the event’s organizers.
Pakistan’s government is likely to delay the decision
“It is the prerogative of the Government of Pakistan to decide whether or not to travel to India and sanction venues for our matches. We have complete faith in the judgment of our government and will adhere to all recommendations. Before informing us of the next steps, it is wholly up to the Pakistani government to formulate and implement a plan. If this necessitates sending an advance team to India to inspect the venues and meet with the event organizers, then the decision will be made solely by the government,” PCB said.
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In addition, the report suggests that the current Pakistani government, whose term ends in August, may not make the decision to travel to India. Therefore, it will be delayed until the next administration assumes office. The current administration is unlikely to make a formal announcement at this time.
