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World Cup 2023: Pakistan Team awaiting govt approval for travelling to India

The much-anticipated World Cup schedules have been released, with Pakistan set to face archrival India in a headline matchup on October 15 in Ahmedabad, but the team’s participation in the competition has yet to be verified.

On Tuesday, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the calendar for the 50-over competition, roughly two weeks after sharing a draught timetable with the cricket boards of all participating nations.

However, the PCB promptly announced that any visit to India, including World Cup match locations, would still require government approval. According to the schedule, Pakistan will begin their campaign by hosting two qualifiers from the Zimbabwe tournament in Hyderabad on October 6 and 12, before facing India at the world’s largest cricket stadium, the 132,000-seater Narendra Modi Stadium.

“The PCB requires the government of Pakistan’s clearance for any tour to India, including the match venues,” PCB Director Sami Ul Hasan explained in a statement.

Pakistan has previously raised qualms about playing in Ahmedabad, India’s Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s hometown. The city was the epicentre of fatal religious riots in 2002, which killed at least 1,000 people, predominantly Muslims, in communal violence.

The squad will next fly to Bengaluru on October 20 to face Australia, and then to Chennai to play Afghanistan on October 23 and South Africa on October 27. Pakistan’s next visit is Kolkata, where they will meet Bangladesh on October 31 before returning to Bengaluru to face New Zealand on November 4 before concluding their league phase against England on November 12.

The Pakistan Cricket Board had worries about playing in Mumbai, and the International Cricket Council made certain that Pakistan did not travel to India’s financial capital. Pakistan will play in Kolkata if they advance to the semi-finals. If India advances to the final four, the semi-final will be played in Mumbai, unless the match is against Pakistan.

The schedule was announced less than four months before the competition, with Pakistan and India embroiled in a violent disagreement over the Asia Cup. India declined to go to Pakistan for the Asia Cup in August and September, and Pakistan retaliated by threatening to boycott the World Cup if at least some Asia Cup matches were not held on home territory.

The impasse was ultimately broken last month when Pakistan agreed to divide matches with Sri Lanka, where India will play in the Asia Cup. Only a tweak at the top of the PCB seems to have been agreed as a compromise. Najam Sethi, the temporary chairman of the PCB management committee, resigned last week, opening the way for the prime minister’s nomination, Zaka Ashraf, to become the country’s cricket boss.

Courts have delayed the elections, but while Mr Ashraf has stated that he would follow the hybrid model agreed upon by his predecessor, he has intimated that the decision to send the squad to the World Cup will be made after sufficient discussions.

The PCB has also transmitted the fixture list to the appropriate government ministries. With the government’s decision still pending, it is quite possible that the official World Cup schedule would be adjusted to accommodate Pakistan’s potential objections, particularly if there are major security concerns.

Farzeen K

Farzeen K

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