CWC 2023: PCB Chairman raises concern over delay in visas of Pakistan fans and journalists in India

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ICC Cricket World Cup 2023: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has raised its concern over the continuous delay in the approval of visas for Pakistan cricket fans and journalists from the Indian authorities.

Sources tell MyKhel that PCB Management Committee Chairman Zaka Ashraf has called upon Pakistan Foreign Secretary Syrus Sajjad Qazi and raised serious concerns and alarm over the delay in visas to cover the ongoing 10-team global tournament, which started October 5.

The PCB chairman, Zaka Ashraf has also requested the Pakistan Foreign Secretary to take up the issue with India's Home Ministry through the Pakistan High Commission Office in New Delhi and pressurise them to expedite the visa process of Pakistani nationals.

As per sources, the PCB has also taken serious notice of security threats being reported in Indian media and requested the government to evaluate the players' security in India. He emphasised that the well-being and safety of the Pakistan squad was of paramount importance.

"PCB is extremely disappointed to see that journalists from Pakistan and fans are still facing uncertainty about obtaining an Indian visa to cover Pakistan games in ICC World Cup 2023," the source said.

In the meantime, PCB has again reminded ICC and BCCI of their respective obligations and terms and conditions stipulated in the Host agreement to guarantee visas for fans and journalists of participating teams.

Security of Pakistan Cricket Team in India

The Pakistan Cricket Team has been under heavy security cover in Hyderabad, the capital city of Telangana, ever since their arrival in the country. The Telangana Police has taken strong security measures for all the visiting teams participating in the CWC 2023. Even the media personnel are not allowed to cover the training sessions of the teams.

Apart from Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, and the Netherlands cricket teams have matches in the 'City of Nizams'. However, there is an extra layer of security in place for the Pakistan team and there's a big security deployment where the team is stationed.

Pakistan cricket team on Monday (October 9) practiced at the Gymkhana Ground in Hyderabad and trained under closed doors. Media persons, covering the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, were also not allowed to watch players' training session ahead of the match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka on Tuesday (October 10).