The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has said that before confirming its participation in the World Cup, it must receive government approval. Following the Tuesday schedule announcement in Mumbai, this comment was given. It appears that the World Cup plan did not take the PCB’s demands and concerns into consideration.
Following the release of the whole World Cup schedule a few hours ago, a spokeswoman for the Pakistan board stated that “the PCB requires clearance from the Government of Pakistan for any tour to India, including the match venues.”
“We are in contact with our government to ask for advice, and once we hear back, we’ll inform the Event Authority (ICC). This approach is consistent with what we told the ICC when they shared the draught schedule with us and asked for our input a few weeks ago, the official continued. Their opinions on the final program weren’t mentioned, though.
Insiders at the ICC and BCCI have however expressed their confidence that the Pakistani team will visit India.
One of PCB’s concerns was the game between India and Pakistan being played in Ahmedabad. They had said they would want to play in Bengaluru or Chennai. Additionally, they demanded that the BCCI and ICC, the hosts, change the locations of the games against Afghanistan and Australia that are currently slated for Bengaluru and Chennai, respectively.
The Pakistan board is a signatory to the members’ participation agreement, the ICC reiterated while denying that it had received any hint from the PCB. “Pakistan has signed a participation agreement to compete and we expect them to be there and have had no indications to the contrary,” a representative for the international organization said.
“We recognize the fact that all Members are subject to the laws and regulations of their respective nations. The official continued, “But we’re optimistic Pakistan will be in India for the Men’s Cricket World Cup.
The Asia Cup is one of the international events whose schedules are the subject of a disagreement between the BCCI and PCB. Under pressure from the Asian boards, led by the BCCI, the PCB was forced to accept a hybrid format for the continental tournament, with matches unevenly distributed between Pakistan (four) and Sri Lanka (nine).
On October 6, Pakistan will face Qualifier 1 in Hyderabad to open their campaign. On October 12, there will be a game against Qualifier 2. The high-profile matchup against India is set for October 15 in Ahmedabad. The other matches for Pakistan are against Australia on October 20 in Bengaluru, Afghanistan on October 23, South Africa on October 27 in Chennai, Bangladesh on October 31 in Kolkata, New Zealand on November 4 in Bengaluru, and England on November 12 in Kolkata. The BCCI and ICC have made it plain that should Pakistan advance to the semifinals, their match would take place in Kolkata regardless of whether they faced India, for whom Mumbai had been assigned as the semifinal location.
