PAK vs SL: PCB Approaches Pakistan Government Over Visa Delays For World Cup, Concerned Over Players Safety In India
Published - 10 Oct 2023, 12:55 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:20 AM
While the Pakistan players have received a warm and grand welcome in India, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Zaka Ashraf has expressed his apprehensions over their safety. The Men in Green are currently in India for the 2023 World Cup.
Pakistan have visited India for the first time since 2016. They landed in Hyderabad last month and received a grand welcome from the fans. Hundreds of fans cheered them at the airport, prompting the likes of Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, and Shaheen Afridi to take to their social media accounts and appreciate the gesture.
The fans also made sure to cheer the Pakistan team from the stands during their World Cup opener against the Netherlands at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium last week. However, the PCB is still concerned about the players’ safety. According to a report in Cricket Pakistan, the board has taken serious notice of security threats being reported in Indian media. They have requested the government to evaluate players’ security in India.
PCB concerned over visa delay:
The PCB is also concerned about journalists and fans from Pakistan not being granted visas for the marquee event. Not a single journalist from Pakistan was in the stands when the Men in Green locked horns against the Netherlands last week. The PCB has been trying its best since then to resolve the issue.
It recently wrote a letter to the ICC, requesting the governing body to solve the issue. The ICC, in response, has come up with a temporary measure. Pakistani journalists are now allowed to take part in media interactions but through WhatsApp.
Ashraf has now reportedly called upon Pakistan Foreign Secretary Syrus Sajjad Qazi and raised serious concerns and alarm over the delay in fans’ and journalists’ visas for India to cover the World Cup. The PCB chairman has requested the Foreign Secretary to take up the issue with India’s Home Ministry through the Pakistan High Commission Office in New Delhi.
