Govt won’t allow Pak team to travel to India for World Cup

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has expressed serious concerns about the safety and security of the Pakistan cricketers and has refused issuance of NOC to the team to travel to India to participate in the ODI World Cup scheduled in October this year.

'The News' has learned from well-placed sources that the federal government has refused permission for the team to travel or to finalise any plans to participate in the World Cup. The government has communicated to the PCB that in wake of atrocities against Indian Muslims and the hatred shown by the Hindu extremists against Muslim citizens, Pakistan cricketers' visit and cricketing activities in India would be nothing less than taking a big risk. “We cannot allow cricketers to travel to India under the prevailing situation where Muslims are falling victim to atrocities at the hands of extremists in India. These extremists leave no stone unturned to preach hatred against Muslims. We have some serious security concerns and hence cannot allow our cricketers to travel to India,” a government official when contacted said.

It is worth mentioning here that India has also expressed concerns about its team’s visit to Pakistan for the Asia Cup, which the PCB plans to host in September 2023.

The matter is expected to get even worse if India continues to stick to its stance of not travelling to Pakistan for the Asia Cup. In that case Pakistan would never allow its elite cricketers to take up the trip to a country where extremism is at its peak and even their central government is seen promoting such anti-Muslim measures.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) could further land in trouble in its quest to host the ODI World Cup if it fails to submit the basic requirements necessary to host such a mega event. In the 2016 T20 World Cup, despite all assurance, the BCCI failed to produce tax exemption certificates on the ICC earnings, resulting in around 25 million dollars in tax and extra pressure on the ICC kitty. Ultimately the share of all the participating teams fell down to a considerable amount. Fears are that if the BCCI comes to the ICC Board meeting scheduled on March 20 in Dubai without a tax exception certificate, things could go from bad to worse for the Indian board. Fears are that in case of no tax exemption certificate, the ICC could lose around $75 million this time, hence a telling blow to the share of all participating countries from ICC profit.

That is not all, the BCCI also requires to furnish all the related letters from the Central Government including visa exemption for all the related officials, crew, media and other staff planning to travel to India for the mage event. Besides that Customs exemption certificate is also required for the safe and secure import and export of all the related equipment solely meant for the World Cup. The BCCI representatives planning to attend the March 20 may have to face some tough questions from the ICC Board members in case they come to the meeting unprepared.

The Asian Cricket Council Board that meets on March 21 also in Dubai will discuss formalities regarding the Asia Cup to be hosted by Pakistan in September.