After much drama, Babar Azam’s Pakistan team issued visas for ICC World Cup in India

Following a delay in the issuance of visas, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had to cancel their team-building plan in Dubai, this week.

They are now due to travel to India late on Wednesday, ahead of their first warm-up match against New Zealand in Hyderabad on Friday.

Earlier in the day, the PCB wrote a letter of complaint to the ICC over visa delay. “There has been an extraordinary delay in getting clearance and securing Indian visas for the Pakistan team for ICC World Cup. We have written to ICC raising our concerns about inequitable treatment towards Pakistan and reminding them of these obligations towards the World Cup,” a PCB spokesperson said in a statement .

“It’s a matter of disappointment that Pakistan team has to go through the uncertainty ahead of the major tournament. We have been reminding about their obligations from last three years and it has all come down to last two days with our first warm game scheduled on September 29,” the statement added.

There has been much drama between the two cricket boards in lead up to the upcoming World Cup with a high-level committee comprising senior Pakistan government functionaries clearing the trip to India for the World Cup. Earlier, the BCCI refused to travel to Pakistan for the Asia Cup for security reasons and the tournament was held under a hybrid model with most of the key matches including the final being staged in Colombo.

The ten-nation World Cup kicks off on October 5 in Ahmedabad with the warm-up matches getting underway this Friday. Pakistan has never beaten India in ODI World Cups.