BCCI assures ICC of providing visas to Pakistan team for the 2021 T20 World Cup in India

Ever since the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will be hosting the 2021 edition of the ICC T20 World Cup in India, the office-bearers of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and other former cricketers have openly expressed their concerns over whether the Pakistan cricket team players will be issued visas by the Indian government.

PCB fears that their neighboring government might deny issuing visas to the team players and other people involved like the journalists and fans owing to the political tension between India and Pakistan. Thus, they demanded a written assurance from the Indian board and warned them of pursuing ICC for a change of venue from India to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

It is a well-known fact that India and Pakistan are arch-rivals on and off the cricket field and do not share a good camaraderie with each other. Due to the same reason, both nations haven’t featured in a single bilateral series against each other since 2012/13. While Pakistan last traveled to India for participating in the ICC 2016 World Cup, the Men in Blue haven’t visited the neighboring nation for more than a decade.

BCCI assures ICC and PCB

“There is a need to change the ‘Big Three’ mindset. We are not seeking written assurance for the visas of the national team only, but for the fans, officials and journalists as well. We have told the ICC that India should give written assurances by the end of March so that we know where we stand or we will push for the relocation of the World Cup from India to UAE,” PCB chairman Ehsan Mani was quoted as saying in February.

Meanwhile, it is learned that in reply to the statements made by the Pakistan Cricket Board, the BCCI has given an assurance to the ICC that the Pakistan team will not face any issues in their travel to India and they will make sure that the Men in Green get visas from the Indian government. As per reports in The Times of India (TOI), the BCCI assured the apex body regarding the same during the quarterly meeting which took place on April 1.