Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Zaka Ashraf won’t be travelling to India anytime soon to witness the ongoing World Cup 2023 matches. As per earlier plans, top sources in the PCB told Sportstar that Ashraf and his team were scheduled to visit India on October 10, when Pakistan takes on Sri Lanka at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
However, there has been a change in schedule, with the PCB head also in doubt about attending the much-anticipated India-Pakistan clash in Ahmedabad on October 14.
“Yes, there was this plan of going to Hyderabad to watch the team play against Sri Lanka, but as of now, it has been cancelled. I cannot point out the exact reason but for now, there is no plan of the PCB chief and his team to visit India,” a senior PCB official told Sportstar from Lahore.
Providing further updates on PCB’s top brass visit to India, the source said that nothing is concrete yet and that the change in plans happened due to various reasons.
The visa issue did upset Pakistani management, as journalists and fans from the neighbouring country are still awaiting clearance to land in India for the World Cup.
“The issue is not just about visas and, of course, we want them to get cleared by the Indian government as early as possible with the tournament already underway. It’s just that there has been a change in plan, and I cannot divulge any further details at this moment. We will see when we can visit India,” the source said.
The Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) on its part, said that the BCCI and the ICC take care of the guest list.
“Generally, it’s the board that takes care of the guest list, and then we coordinate with the BCCI and ICC for the hospitality and other needs of VVIPs. There are some standard operating procedures (SOPs) that have been laid down by the ICC and BCCI, and those markers will be followed. However, till now, we haven’t received any information regarding the visit of the PCB chief or any dignitaries from Pakistan. We will act as per BCCI’s advice,” a top HCA official said.
Meanwhile, on Monday, Ashraf called upon the Pakistan Foreign Secretary Syrus Sajjad Qazi to coordinate with the Indian Home Ministry for the issue of visas. The PCB has also dialled the Pakistan High Commission office in New Delhi to speed up the process of issuing visas to journalists and fans.
“We are disappointed to see that journalists from Pakistan and fans are still facing uncertainty about obtaining Indian visas to cover Pakistan games in the World Cup. Hopefully, the issue gets sorted,” the source said.
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