India agrees to issue visas to Pak team

ISLAMABAD: The Indian government has agreed to issue visas and provide security cover to the Pakistan cricket team during the T20 World Cup in October-November this year.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) council was told Friday that the Indian government has given the all clear to issue visas to the Pakistan squad and sports scribes for the mega event.

The T20 World Cup was originally scheduled to be held in Australia in 2020 but was shifted to India for October 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite many reminders by the Pakistan Cricket Board, the BCCI was unable to furnish the Indian government’s NOC on timely issuance of visas to the Pakistan team. However, a few weeks back, the BCCI representative attending the ICC virtual meeting confirmed positive talks with their government.

The BCCI was given an April 30 deadline by the ICC to furnish in-writing confirmation from the Indian government to issue visas to the Pakistan team. It is believed that the guarantee letter will be submitted with the ICC within the next few days. There has been no decision on accommodating Pakistani spectators as yet.