The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has recently written a letter to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, as well as to the interior and foreign ministries, seeking official approval for the national team to travel to India for the upcoming ODI World Cup scheduled for October-November.
The PCB’s request was made in light of the World Cup schedule announcement last week. In their letter, the PCB stated “That they had contacted the Prime Minister through the Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) Ministry, while also copying the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Interior.”
The PCB emphasized that the decision to visit India and finalize the venues for Pakistan’s matches lies solely with the Government of Pakistan. They expressed their unwavering trust in the judgment of the government and stated their willingness to abide by any guidance provided.
The letter highlighted that the process and steps to be taken before advising the PCB on the next course of action are entirely at the discretion of the government.
If the government deems it necessary to send an advance team to India to assess the venues and hold discussions with the event organizers, that decision would be solely made by the government.
According to the report, the letter was written on June 26, and it also mentioned that the PCB had shared Pakistan’s schedule with the government.
It is understood that Pakistan intends to dispatch a security delegation to India in order to inspect the venues before granting final clearance for the national team’s travel to the neighboring country for the World Cup.
An official source from the Inter-Provincial Coordination (Sports) Ministry indicated that the government, including the foreign and interior ministries, will determine when the security delegation should be sent to India.
This decision will be made once the new chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board is elected subsequent to the conclusion of the Eid holidays.
The official source further revealed that the security delegation is likely to visit Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Ahmedabad.
Ahmedabad is particularly significant as it will host the highly anticipated India-Pakistan match on October 15. The timing of the security delegation’s visit to India will be determined by the government following the appointment of the new PCB chairman after the conclusion of the Eid holidays.
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