ICC in crisis as players of Pakistani descent struggle to get Indian visas for T20 WC 2026
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The ICC T20 World Cup matches will be played in India and Sri Lanka. While Pakistan players might not be troubled to obtain a visa since all their games are scheduled to be played in Sri Lanka, several other participating teams, like Oman, UAE, Italy, USA, and Canada, have players of Pakistani origin who are not getting their visas approved for travelling to India.
The ICC T20 World Cup 2026 will be co-hosted by India and its neighbouring nation, Sri Lanka. While most of the matches will be played across the Indian subcontinent, Sri Lanka will host the matches for their group on their grounds and any knockout game that involves them.
India will be the defending champions of the competition, after they won the previous edition of the ICC T20 World Cup in 2024. They are also the most inevitable and strongest team in the shortest format of the game, and they won the Asia Cup this time as well.
Players of Pakistani origin were denied a visa for the ICC T20 World Cup in India
A new issue has made the headlines involving the two teams, India and Pakistan, just a month ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. Several players who hail from the country of Pakistan and have passports of Pakistani origin.
Players who are part of teams like the USA, UAE, Italy, Canada, and Oman have several star cricketers who have Pakistani passports, and they went on to play for these nations after not having an opportunity to star for Pakistan.
The respective boards of these teams have written to the ICC and the BCCI regarding the issues; however, they have not received any response as of now. A report from GeoNews confirmed that after having written individually, the five boards are looking forward to addressing the issue collectively and resolving it.
Pakistan team not bothered by visas for the T20 World Cup
Interestingly, Pakistan have not featured in a series in India since 2012-13 but travelled to the country for the ICC World Cup in 2023. However, now Pakistan and India have signed a deal that opts for a hybrid model across ICC tournaments.
Hence, much like the Champions Trophy, when India played all their games in Dubai, and Pakistan were the official host of the competition. Now, Pakistan will play all their matches in Sri Lanka, which means they need not be bothered about their players receiving visas.
Notably, as per the deal, if Pakistan make it to the ICC T20 World Cup knockouts, then Pakistan would play their games in Sri Lanka. The mega-event will take place in Colombo.
Bangladesh players might also struggle with visas amid the Indo-Bangladesh conflict
The recent escalating controversies between India and Bangladesh and the two boards, BCCI and BCB, would surely complicate the situation for the Bangladesh players. Eyeing the unrest in Bangladesh, it will be tough for them to secure an Indian visa without any complications.
Moreover, they have asked the ICC to shift their venues to Sri Lanka and have denied travelling to India. The ICC have informed that such changes cannot be made as of now; however, the BCB is yet to finalize their standpoint on the issue.
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Pakistan National Cricket Team ICC T20 World Cup 2026 Oman National Cricket Team UAE National Cricket Team USA National Cricket Team Canada National Cricket Team Italy National Cricket Team ICC T20 World CupAbout the Author
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